Armstead's A Niner

With the 17th pick of the NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers have selected former Pleasant Grove High School standout Arik Armstead.

"My dream is coming true, there's a long road and lots of work to do, but to play just down the road from my home is truly special," Armstead told reporters Thursday. "I wasn't a 49er fan growing up, but being so close and watching them on TV, I got to know their guys. Being so close and representing Northern California and (Elk Grove) by being a 49er is really nice."

His high school coach, Joe Cattolico, is pleased that the 6-7, 292-pound defensive lineman is a 49er and knew he'd be a high draft choice.

"I'm not surprised," Cattolico texted Thursday. "Glad for him and excited he's a 49er."

Cattolico thinks his former standout will be "fantastic" as a pro.

Arik Armstead, now a 49er

According to the 49er website,  Armstead "improved by leaps and bounds from 2013 to 2014. Elite size with ability to add more bulk to his frame. Quick-twitch athlete. Explodes upfield into blockers with good pad level and hip snap, gaining instant leverage against the run and often jarring them into the backfield. Gets good arm extension to control offensive linemen and peppers them with powerful hands. Can unlock quickly from blocks. Has above-average tackle radius thanks to his length and quickness."

The team initially held the 15th pick in the draft but traded with the San Diego Chargers for their first-round pick, fourth-round pick (117th overall) and 2016 fifth-round pick.

Head coach Jim Tomsula had Armstead targeted in the first round and said he liked what he saw out of the former Oregon Duck.

"He's a big guy who can bend, can exhibit power and we feel good about this," Tomsula said. "His best football is in front of this guy. Take a look at this guy and see him run. Meeting the young man, he's a solid young man. He's got a sparkle."

Niners' general manager Trent Baalke says Armstead is a unique player.

"He's 6-foot-seven who has played in a three-point stance and this young man played through some injuries and what we saw out of him in the late season impressed us," Baalke said. "He played his finest football late in the season."

Armstead is the first Elk Grove-area football player to be drafted in the NFL's first round. All-Pro linebacker Lance Briggs from Elk Grove H.S. was a third round pick out of Arizona.

In basketball, Bill Cartwright, the man whom the school gym is named, was drafted in the first round by the New York Knicks in 1979 out of San Francisco U. Derek Hill, an EGHS baseball player, was taken last summer in the first round by the Detroit Tigers fresh off the Herd diamond.

In 2007, former Laguna Creek Cardinal Casey Weathers was the top pick of the Colorado Rockies out of Vanderbilt University. Weathers has battled some injury but is still playing professionally in the Cleveland Indians' organization.

CRC Enters Post-Season/EGYSL Files Lawsuit

Cosumnes River College's softball and baseball teams have a big weekend in front of them as they open the California Community College's Northern California playoffs.

The softball team, seeded #4, takes on #12 Fresno City College in a best two-out-of-three matchup. Saturday they play at 2 p.m. at CRC. Sunday's game is at noon. If a third game is needed, it will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Hawks' baseball is seeded #9 and will face #8 Gavilan College on the road. Game one is Friday at 2 p.m. with the second contest scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. If a third game is needed it will follow game two.

EGYSL Sues Soccer Start-Up

The city's largest youth sports organization, Elk Grove Youth Soccer, has filed a lawsuit against a new rival soccer organization, the Elk Grove Recreational Soccer League (EGRSL), claiming the organizers of the start-up group took confidential information.

In a new release, EGYSL president Debra Carlton claimed some of the new league's organizers were a part of the older organization and knowing they were going to start their own group, they took some lists of players and coaches.

In December when EGRSL first announced their intentions to establish their own league, EGYSL accused them of taking equipment and money. Carlton said at the time said the new league organizers didn't realize how EGYSL was set up with its regional soccer clubs and returned everything to the parent organization.

The legal action will be heard before a judge in mid-May, according to Carlton.

Meanwhile EGRSL is taking registrations for play this fall. According to their website they've also established six neighborhood organizations. They are Elk Grove Thundering Herd, Calvine, Pleasant Grove Eagles, Southgate, West Elk Grove and Cosumnes Oaks.

If Armstead Is Drafted Tonight, It's an Elk Grove First

The NFL Draft is underway with the first round tonight. Each team will have 15 minutes to make their selection which makes for some prime-time TV drama.

Former Pleasant Grove H.S. and Oregon Duck defensive end Arik Armstead is being listed as a possible first round selection. If he's taken by some NFL club tonight, that's going to be an Elk Grove first.

We've never had a football player from our community taken in the first round of a NFL Draft. All-Pro linebacker Lance Briggs from Elk Grove H.S. was a third round pick out of Arizona. That's about as high as any of our alumni have gone to the pros.

In basketball, Bill Cartwright, the man whom the school gym is named, was drafted in the first round by the New York Knicks in 1979 out of San Francisco U. Derek Hill, an EGHS baseball player, was taken last summer in the first round by the Detroit Tigers fresh off the Herd diamond.

In 2007, former Laguna Creek Cardinal Casey Weathers was the top pick of the Colorado Rockies out of Vanderbilt University. Weathers has battled some injury but is still playing professionally in the Cleveland Indians' organization.

As far as Armstead is concerned the 49ers have actually mentioned they might be interested in him in this draft. The Niners draft 15th overall tonight.

Daniel Jeremiah's mock draft on NFL.Com has Armstead landing 24th overall with the Arizona Cardinals.

Soccer Moves To Winter/Williams Retires

The Board of Managers of the Sac-Joaquin Section voted Wednesday to move both boys' and girls' soccer to the winter season effective the 2016-2017 school year.

The vote, 31-23 in favor, was one of the tightest ever in these kind of decisions, according to the Section's Director of Communications, Will DeBoard.

Previously, the boys have always played in the fall and the girls in the spring. CIF has said the winter is the official season for soccer with the majority of sections around the state playing the sport during that time of year.

DeBoard thinks that this will open the door to some sort of NorCal regional or even a state championship for soccer, but that may be a ways off.

"This is a vote that has come up many times over the years, but this is obviously the first time the move to winter was officially approved," DeBoard wrote in an email to media members.

In addition, DeBoard announced that John Williams, the Section's associate commissioner, will retire effective July 1 and will be replaced by Ryan Tos, currently the athletic director at Lemoore High School.

Ryan Tos, new SJS Assoc. Commissioner

One other note, the Board also made a new playoff rule whereby if a team wins a league championship in a sport where the playoff is based on enrollment-based divisions, that team must play at that same division in the post-season. This past year both Modesto Christian and Capital Christian were league champions in Division V in football, but were dropped to Div. VI for the playoffs.

Injury Halts Wisdom's Pitching Career

Shelby Wisdom had a great junior season with the UC-Santa Barbara softball team. She finished with 22 wins on the mound. That combined with 24 wins in her sophomore season made her the first Gaucho to ever record two 20-win seasons.

Plus, her 63 career wins made the 2011 Elk Grove High School graduate UC-Santa Barbara’s winngest pitcher of all time. Her 247 strikeouts in 2012 is also a school single-season record.

In addition to that Wisdom led the Gauchos in 2014 with 30 RBI’s, seven home runs and 19 extra-base hits.

She couldn’t wait for her senior season in 2015.

Shelby Wisdom

But, something happened in June of 2014 that put a damper on the prospects of another outstanding season both on the mound and at the plate.

“I woke up one morning right after school ended and my (right) elbow had a sharp pain in it,” Wisdom recalled. “I thought I just slept on it funny. My sister was visiting me and we went to the beach. There I told her, ‘Dude, something’s wrong with my elbow. I can’t throw.’”

She tried to pitch and it was a stabbing pain every time she tried to throw. The doctor told her it was a ligament, not to throw for about two weeks and she’d be okay. However, it didn’t help.

“I tried to pitch again and it was worse,” Wisdom said.

This time when she visited the doctor an MRI was performed and the prognosis wasn’t good – she no longer had cartilage in her elbow. The reason?

“It was from overuse,” Wisdom was told by the doctor. She pitched all conference games for UC-Santa Barbara in 2014 and most of them in 2012 and 2013.

Susac Key To Giants' Win/ Larson Has Strong Race In CT.

The San Francisco Giants are looking for help to get the defending World Champions out of an early-season funk.

Their first call-up from Triple-A Sacramento last week was former Jesuit catcher Andrew Susac.

Local baseball fans will remember Susac quite well when he was leading the Marauders to back-to-back Sac-Joaquin Section championships in 2008 and 2009.  Teamed with current Cardinals’ farmhand Jimmy Bosco and Danny Hayes, an Elk Grove resident now playing in the White Sox organization, Susac was instrumental in a 6-5 playoff win on May 17, 2008 over Elk Grove.

That Jesuit win ended the Herd’s 18-game playoff win streak that stretched from 2005 through 2007.

Three times in the North Division I playoffs that year the Marauders defeated Pleasant Grove and then Jesuit beat Buhach Colony for the 2008 Section title.

In his senior season in 2009, Susac batted .445 with eight homers, nine doubles and three triples. He also drove in a team-high 34 runs. That year Jesuit swept St. Mary’s for the 2009 Division I Section championship.

Susac went on to Oregon State University where he became a teammate of Elk Grove graduate Jake Rodriguez. He was taken by the Giants in the second round of the 2011 draft.

Susac quickly moved through the Giants’ farm system and was called up to the majors on July 24, 2014. He stayed with the big club for the rest of the year and was on the World Series roster in the fall. Susac batted .273 with three home runs and 19 RBI’s as the backup to All-Star catcher Buster Posey.

He began this season with Sacramento, the Giants Triple-A club. When pitcher Jake Peavy went on the disabled list, it was Susac who got the call to take his place on the 25-man roster.

Through Friday’s Susac’s already started three games and is batting .425, including a 2-for-3 night at the plate in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Dodgers

Larson Leads Bristol Race For 90 laps, Finishes Seventh

For 90 of the 500-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Bristol, Conn., Sunday Elk Grove’s Kyle Larson was in first place.

In lap 345 of the Food City 500 Sprint Cup leaders Kevin Harvick and Jimmy Johnson got into a multi-car crash that sent cars scurrying into the pits during the yellow flag. Larson’s crew chief, Chris Heroy, decided to keep the #42 Target Chevrolet on the track so when the race went back green Larson was in the front of the pack.

He was quite impressive for the next 90 laps fighting off several cars on the .5-mile oval, betting that a caution flag might come out so that he could pit and perhaps keep the lead. That didn’t happen so Larson had to pit under a green light and dropped back in the pack. 

Matt Kenseth eventually won the race with Larson finishing in seventh place.

He’s still waiting for win number one on NASCAR’s top circuit and last Sunday in Bristol was about as close as he’s gotten.

In 2014, he did finish second at the Auto Club 500 in Fontana.

Larson will give it another try this Saturday at the Toyota Owners 400 at the Richmond (VA.) International Raceway.

He says he is doing much better following a fainting spell in late March during an autograph session prior to a race at Martinsville, VA.

The morning he fainted the 22-year-old had overslept and was in hurry. He didn’t eat breakfast and paid for it. Going forward, Larson was instructed to be more mindful of his eating habits and take better care of himself.

"I hate breakfast, so I've got to find something that I like to eat in the morning and just make sure I drink enough fluids," Larson told reporters at Texas Motor Speedway. "I feel like I take decent care of myself. That morning was a little bit different because I overslept and had to rush out to the car, but we should be good.”

"When you are young, you think you are bulletproof and that is just one little instance that shows you that you aren't. You've got to take care of yourself as you get older, definitely going to try and do a better job of that."

Larson tweeted a photo of himself eating a chicken wrap and holding a sports drink for lunch Friday, which he directed towards car owner Chip Ganassi, who jokingly told Larson to "lay off the pizza and tacos diet."

Quick Hits …

Marks Retires At Franklin, Johnson Remains As Football Coach

Almost lost amongst all the recent stories of local coaching changes, we need to mention that Fred Marks announced his retirement from coaching the wrestling program at Franklin this week. For more than 20 years, Marks has put quality wrestling squads on the mats of both Franklin and Laguna Creek High Schools.

A couple of his recent standouts include heavyweight Peter Anguiano who placed third at State in 2010 and 190-pounder Joey Banks who placed at State in 2014.

Marks will be missed amongst the local wrestling circles.

It was also announced this week that Mike Johnson, who resigned the football coaching job at Franklin after the 2014 season, said he'd stick around for at least one more year after Mark Johnson resigned just 24 hours after taking the Wildcats' job.

Johnson will have the double-duty next school year of coaching the girls' basketball program, too. 

Ken Manfredi was hired two weeks ago as the Wildcats' new boys basketball coach, replacing Jesse Formaker. Manfredi will move over from Monterey Trail High School over the summer.

It's likely former Pleasant Grove football coach Joe Cattolico won't be on the sidelines again this fall. He's involved raising two sons, a first and a third-grader, being a husband and teaching U.S. History at PG.  He resigned the Eagles' position after the 2013 season and has been mentioned in connection with past openings at Cosumnes Oaks and Franklin, but nothing materialized. I am aware of at least two other local coaches who have asked Joe to come on board their staff as an assistant.

I believe he's waiting for the right head coaching position to open.

Cosumnes River College will also be looking for a new men's basketball coach after James Giocomazzi announced his leaving for the same post at Las Positas College in Livermore. Joe Davidson wrote in his column this morning in the Bee that a front-runner to replace Giocomazzi is Nicholas Podesta.

Former Sheldon quarterback Nolan Merker will see plenty of time Saturday in the annual Green and Gold spring football game at Sacramento State. Merker walked on last year and is in a battle with former Rocklin quarterback Daniel Kniffin, a redshirt sophomore, for the starting job in the fall. Bill Patterson writes this morning in the Bee a transfer from Baylor and one from SMU will also

Nolan Merker, left, with current Huskies' quarterback Nathan Berry

compete at quarterback.

Transfers at the collegiate level, particularly in football, are becoming more and more common. Former Whitney standout QB Jake Rodrigues recently transferred from Oregon to San Diego State.

Patterson also mentioned one wide receiver expected to see plenty of time next season is Jabari Johnson, a former Franklin Wildcat.

In Friday's Citizen, I wrote about David Smith, a former EGHS pitcher, now at CRC who has recently signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his college career at Long Beach State.

Don't be surprised if his CRC teammate, Tyler Blake, a first baseman who graduated from Franklin, ends up at Chico State.

EGUSD Honors 13 In Nat'l LOI Ceremony

The Elk Grove Unified School District honored 13 of its athletes Wednesday in its annual spring National Letter-of-Intent signing ceremony at the Robert Trigg Building.

Two athletes will attend the U.S. Naval Academy: Shot putter and discus thrower Isabella Marini of Elk Grove High School and Jaaron Stallworth, a basketball player from Cosumnes Oaks High School. This is quite an honor because the freshman class of midshipmen at Annapolis numbers only around 1200.

Isabella Marini, with mother Lorissa

Elk Grove football player Spencer Sheff inked a letter to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Two other football players, Monterey Trail's Trey Nahhas and Elk Grove's Manny Scott-Anderson, had previously inked NCAA letters-of-intent in February, but joined the others in this ceremony. Nahhas will attend Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo while Scott-Anderson will go to Sacramento State.

Five tracksters signed Wednesday led by Cameron Stone of Sheldon, one of the state's top runners in the 400 meters. Emelda Malm-Annan, an elite shot putter and discus thrower at Monterey Trail, signed a commitment to the University of Wyoming.

Franklin's long jumper, Jorden O'Neil, inked a letter with UC-Riverside while Pleasant Grove's Grace Hepworth will run track next year at Chico State.

The lone baseball player in the signing ceremony was Cosumnes Oaks' Drew Gwerder who will attend Holy Names University.

Golfers Brittany O'Bryant and Kiki Trujillo-Nava, both from Pleasant Grove, signed their letters Wednesday. O'Bryant will attend Chico State while Trujillo-Nava will go to Texas Southern.

One soccer player inked a letter-of-intent. He was Michael Hirsch of Pleasant Grove who will play next year at Chico State.

EGUSD athletes and their parents at Wednesday's LOI ceremony

And, our congratulations to Laguna Creek's Michael Oakland who was one of only 48 Sac-Joaquin Section athletes to earn an A. Dale Lackey/CSEA Scholarship.

Matthew competed for the cross country and track and field teams for four years each. He was the team MVP in cross country twice and in track and field three times. He’s received academic excellence awards for each sport all four years. 

He won the academic achievement award, Susan B. Anthony Award and was a PSAT African-American commended student. He’s a volunteer at Meadows Assisted Living and he’s gone on mission trips with his church. 

Matthew has a 4.67 GPA, which is No. 3 in his class of 424. He will attend the University of Chicago and will major in pre-law with the future goal of becoming a lawyer.

Delta League Baseball on Wednesday:

Elk Grove 10, Monterey Trail 0
Jesuit 3, Franklin 1 (first Delta loss for the Wildcats, who are now tied atop the league with the Marauders and Herd at 4-1)
Grant 6, Davis 4 
Sheldon 6, Pleasant Grove 5 (Matt Manning had a pair of doubles and drove in two runs)

McLain Returns But PG Loses To EG In Extras

A problem with the background check of Pleasant Grove head baseball coach Rusty McLain kept the veteran coach out of the Eagles' dugout for two games last week. In his absence PG defeated Jesuit, 3-2, last Wednesday and Elk Grove, 5-4, on Friday.

Elk Grove Unified's athletic director Rod Edmiston wrote Monday in an email McLain is now cleared to coach the Eagles. He didn't specify why McLain was pulled from the dugout last week, some 15 games into the Eagles' season.

"All coaches in the Elk Grove Unified School District need to be cleared to coach," Edmiston wrote. "When it comes to the District's attention that a coach has not been cleared, we take immediate steps to correct the situation."

On the field, the Eagles fought back from a 4-0 deficit Monday and tied the Herd in a rematch of the two clubs at Pleasant Grove High School. The game went ten innings before Elk Grove pulled out a 7-5 win.

Dylan Carlson picked up the win in relief.

Elk Grove is now 3-1 in the Delta League, Pleasant Grove dropped to 2-2.

Franklin sits alone atop the Delta with a 4-0 mark following Monday's 3-2 win over Grant. Jake Lopez picked up the win in relief.

Ten Athletes To Ink NLI Wednesday

Ten athletes from Elk Grove Unified School District high schools will sign National Letters-of –Intent Wednesday in an early morning ceremony at the Trigg Building’s Board Room.

Two of those athletes, football players Manny Scott-Anderson of Elk Grove and Trey Nahhas of Monterey Trail, have already officially signed their letters in February when college programs can first offer letters-of-intent. There was no district signing ceremony for the football players at that time.

Scott-Anderson is committed to Sacramento State while Nahhas is signed with Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo. Joining them at the ceremony is Elk Grove linebacker Spencer Sheff who is committed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Four track and field athletes will ink their letters Wednesday. They are Isabella Marini of Elk Grove (U.S. Naval Academy),  Emelda Malm-Annan of Monterey Trail (Wyoming), Grace Hepworth of Pleasant Grove (Chico State) and Cameron Stone of Sheldon (Oregon).

Pleasant Grove golfer Brittany O’Bryant will sign Wednesday with Chico State as will Eagles’ soccer player Michael Hirsch.

Cosumnes Oaks baseball player Drew Gwerder will ink with Holy Names University.

PG Defeats EG Without McLain - UPDATE

It was an exciting Delta League baseball game Friday afternoon at Wackman Field. Pleasant Grove defeated Elk Grove, 5-4, by scoring four runs with two outs in the top of the seventh inning and then holding on for its second league win of the year.

The question, though, was where was Pleasant Grove head coach Rusty McLain?

He wasn't anywhere in sight. The team was coached by former EG standout and current PG assistant Dan Boyle, who said afterwards he couldn't comment on McLain's status.

"I am the interim head coach," Boyle said.

The storyline for Friday was that this game marked the first time since 1999 that McLain coached a game at Elk Grove, the school where he was the baseball coach for four years following the death of longtime coach Gary Dreher.

McLain was hired last fall by Pleasant Grove to replace Rob Rinaldi. He had not been a head high school baseball coach in the 15 years since leaving EGHS.

McLain wasn't coaching the Eagles' 3-2 win on Wednesday over Jesuit, either. It's likely he won't be in the Eagles' dugout Monday when they host Elk Grove.

That's because sources say school district officials have told PG administrators to keep McLain out of the dugout. The reason for this move is still not clear.

Pleasant Grove A.D. Bruce Belden was out of town this weekend. Phone calls and emails to school district officials had not yet been returned as of Sunday evening.

In the meantime, the baseball game between the Eagles and the Herd is still on for a 4 p.m. first pitch for Monday.

On another note, Franklin High School hired a new football coach earlier this week only to have him turn around and quit later that day. Read about this in Friday's Citizen.

Manfredi Named New Basketball Coach at Franklin

After 11 years at Monterey Trail High School, Ken Manfredi has decided to move on. Earlier today Franklin High School, a Delta League rival, announced they have hired Manfredi as its new boys' basketball coach.

He'll replace Jesse Formaker, a highly-successful coach for the Wildcats, leading them to two Sac-Joaquin Section championship games, who resigned last week.

Ken Manfredi, now Franklin's basketball coach

Manfredi is a former player at UC Davis who made Monterey Trail's team very competitive, but never could seem to get the Mustangs past the first one or two rounds. Though his clubs played hard, he never seemed to get the big, tall basketball player which Franklin always seem to have.

He'll take over a Franklin program that was 10-4 and second place in the Delta League a year ago.

Also, the school announced that former football coach Mike Johnson will take over the girls' basketball program. Johnson had resigned the football coaching job earlier this year.

Best Track/Field Times/Marks In The Section

Pleasant Grove sophomore sprinter Rae'vyn Lawler has not only the fastest time in the 100 meters thus far throughout all of the Sac-Joaquin Section, but she's also the only girl to break the 12-second mark this season.

Lawler's time of 11.84 seconds recorded three weeks ago is the only time anyone has run inside 12 seconds. Her mark of 25.04 seconds in the 200 meters is the second-fastest thus far this year in that event.

Franklin's 4x100 meter relay teams, both the boys and the girls, have the best time in their respective events. The boys have run the relay in 42.52 seconds while the girls have bested everyone in the Section with a run of 47.82 seconds. The Wildcats' head track coach Millard Hampton won an Olympic gold medal in this event during the 1976 games in Montreal.

Other locals who own the best mark in the Section through the 6th of April include Franklin triple jumper Amanda Brooks with a leap of 37 feet, 2.25 inches. 

Wildcat long jumper Jorden O'Neal has the second best mark thus far in the Section with a leap of  18 feet, seven inches. Teammate Phillip Fayne's high jump of six feet, eight inches is the second-best in that event, too.

On a related note, Hampton wants to send several of his tracksters to the infamous Penn Relays in Pennsylvania beginning April 22. 

"We would like to send our girls 4 x 100 meter relay team which has won the Sac Joaquin Section Masters competition over the past two years," Hampton wrote on the team's website. "We would also like to send our girls 4 x 400 relay team, boys 4 x 100 relay team and two other outstanding athletes who have bright futures ahead of them."

"Some of these athletes have future dreams of becoming a future member of the United States Olympic Team," he wrote. "Going to the Penn Relays provides them a great start on their quest to achieve this fantastic goal."

The Wildcats take on Pleasant Grove and Monterey Trail in a Delta League meet on Wednesday at Mark Macres Stadium beginning at 4 p.m.

EG, Franklin Win Delta Openers

Monday marked the first day of baseball in the Delta League for 2015.

Elk Grove 9, Sheldon 1

Ty Madrigal and Christian Scott team up on a four-hitter. Ryan Robards had a pair of hits and an RBI.

Franklin 5, Davis 4, 8 innings

Isaiah Morales drills a walk-off double in the 8th inning for the Wildcats, who are now 11-2 on the year.

Jesuit 3, Pleasant Grove 1

Dalton Gomez picks up the loss for the Eagles in his first league start.

Grant 14, Monterey Trail 3

The Mustangs got all their runs in the top of the first, but couldn't stop the Pacers' bats.

These same clubs play again Wednesday.

Notes From The Boras - Day Four

The Northern California edition of the Scott Boras Baseball Classic is now over for 2015 and this year's tournament will likely be remembered for its excellent pitching. Oh, you have to throw in quite a few defensive web gems into the mix, too.

At least four of the games went into extra innings, two of them including Thursday's championship game, were scoreless after seven frames. Eventually, St. Francis pulled out a 1-0, 10-inning win over Clovis West to earn the right to face Boras' Southern California champion on May 2 at Cal State - Fullerton for the mythical state champion of baseball.

The other game scoreless after regulation was a second round contest between Granite Bay and Serra High School of San Mateo. Those two went 11 innings without crossing the plate before Serra notched a pair in the 12th frame to win, 2-0.

St. Francis opened play at the Boras with a 5-0 win over Davis as Jeremy Ydens threw a no-hitter. He went the distance, striking out six and walking two.

Another pitching gem was turned in by Bellarmine's Troy Burg who tossed a complete game one-hitter at Stockdale and won, 4-0.

Serra took third place at the Boras by defeating Elk Grove Thursday, 7-2.

Notes from the Boras: Day Two

Too bad that Pleasant Grove dropped its first two contests of the Boras Baseball Classic at McAuliffe Fields. In game one, they narrowly lost to J. Serra of San Mateo, 3-2. Then in its second-round game the Eagles had a 4-0 lead then gave up an "eight spot" in one inning and lost to Maria Carrillo from Santa Rosa, 11-6.

Serra went on to play the longest game of the tournament thus far. The Padres played 11 scoreless innings with Granite Bay and then finally won it in the 12th, 2-0.

This evening the Padres will take on St. Francis of Mountain View in one semi-final game. The other one it's Elk Grove vs. Clovis West.

The Golden Eagles used the pitching of Tyler Ewell to defeat Stockdale from Bakersfield, 1-0. Ewell had seven K's, walked four and allowed just two hits.

The semi-final games start at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

- There have been plenty of pro and college scouts hanging around the tourney. Name about any California college and I think I've seen them at the Boras.

Orsino Hill, father of Derek Hill, the former Herd centerfielder, was there Tuesday. He's scouting for the Dodgers. Derek is likely going to be in Class A baseball with the Tigers this year.

- Doing the public address last evening I was joined by Elk Grove infielder Carlos Moseley. He is such a funny, personable young man. We yucked it up a lot together and did a few call outs to Zach Leach and Joey Bellotti, Herd coaches scouting the Clovis West squad.

One thing we did poke some fun at (deservedly) is the lousy scoreboards at McAuliffe. There are so many lights out you have to guess what number is being displayed in many spots on those boards.

I know scoreboards aren't cheap, but someone needs to pony up the money and get this facility some new ones.

Back to Moseley... he's got some real baseball talent.  I think Carlos deserves a shot with a college somewhere.  He'll be a real addition to someone's baseball program.

-The next two days are the best days to watch the Boras as a fan. You will have a chance to see all 16 teams play.

Remember to park in the Sacramento State University lot to the north and west of McAuliffe Fields and walk over. Be certain you pay for parking there or Sac State's finest will give you a ticket. I believe adult admission to the Boras is around $9.

-No, no sighting of Scott Boras, yet. His brother, Gerry, runs the tournament.