NOTES AND QUOTES for a Tuesday in the Napa Valley:

Left-hander Matt Yourkin is 3-1 with a 2.77 earned run average for the Connecticut Defenders, the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

Yourkin, a Napa High School graduate, has appeared in 18 games, all in relief. In 26 innings, he has allowed 26 hits, nine runs (eight earned), walked nine and struck out 35. He also has a save and three holds for Connecticut, which plays in the Eastern League.

Yourkin, who has pitched in the minor leagues since 2003, was selected by the Pacific Coast League’s Fresno Grizzlies in the Triple-A Phase of the Rule 5 Draft in December. Yourkin, the fifth overall pick, spent last year with Double-A Carolina and Class A Jupiter, Fla., in the Florida Marlins organization.

He spent part of 2007 with Albuquerque, the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate.

Yourkin was signed by the Marlins as a non-drafted free agent in 2003. He bounced between Carolina and Albuquerque in 2006.

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Third baseman Brett Wallace is batting .284 in 18 games for the Memphis Redbirds, the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals which plays in the Pacific Coast League.

The Justin-Siena graduate has two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs.

Wallace, a first-round pick of the Cardinals in last year’s major league draft, is listed as the fourth top prospect in the ESPN.com Starting 9, compiled by Jerry Crasnick.

Wallace, a two-time Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year for Arizona State, started out the 2009 season with the Springfield (Mo.) Cardinals, batting .281 with 36 hits in 32 games. He had five doubles, five home runs and 16 RBIs.

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Tyler Mitchell from Napa has qualified for the upcoming College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo.

He will be competing in saddle bronc riding at the Casper Events Center June 14-20. This is the first trip to the CNFR for the West Hills College freshman. At stake are National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association titles and nearly $250,000 in scholarships.

This is the 61st annual CNFR and the 11th anniversary of the event’s home in Casper. The CNFR features bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, tie-down roping and steer wrestling for the men, and barrel racing, goat tying and breakaway roping for the women. In addition, team roping is held, which can feature male and female competitors.

Along with individual titles, many of the competitors are hoping to be part of the men’s or women’s team that takes the team championship back to their college or university.

Each contestant has three preliminary rounds of competition prior to the final round on Saturday night, June 20. Scores and times from those three rounds will be added up and the 12 contestants with the fastest total times or highest total scores will advance to the finals.

At the conclusion of the final round, national event champions along with men’s and women’s all-around and team champions will be crowned. In addition, several special awards will be presented throughout the competition.

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Area baseball fans will get to see a lot of the Napa American Legion 19’s this week.

Napa has home games scheduled at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville today (5:15 p.m.), Thursday (5:15 p.m.) and Friday (5:15 p.m.) against Santa Rosa.

Napa also faces Vacaville in a doubleheader Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Cleve Borman Field.

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No. 1 seed St. Patrick/St. Vincent-Vallejo won the CIF North Coast Section Division IV softball title, beating Clear Lake-Lakeport in the championship game, 2-1, Saturday.

St. Pat’s (25-2 overall) was a 7-2 winner over Justin-Siena in last week’s semifinals.

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With the summer slate of the 2009 PGA Tour schedule set to start, competition for the coveted top 10 spots on both the U.S. and International Presidents Cup Team standings will no doubt heat up.

The Presidents Cup is scheduled for Oct. 6-11 at historic Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco.

The Presidents Cup, a team match play competition featuring 24 of the world’s top golfers — 12 from the U.S. and 12 from around the world, excluding Europe — is held every two years, and since 1996 has alternated between U.S. and international venues. The Presidents Cup was developed to give the world’s best non-European players an opportunity to compete in international team match-play competition.

President Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to be Honorary Chairman of The Presidents Cup, the PGA Tour said Monday.

For tickets to the event, visit PresidentsCup.com or call 877-PREZ-TIX (773-9849).

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For the 11th consecutive week, Bernhard Langer is atop the Champions Tour’s Charles Schwab Cup standings. He holds a 202-point lead over Michael Allen.

Loren Roberts, Larry Mize and Keith Fergus make up the remainder of the top five.

The Schwab Cup is a season-long points program designed to recognize the Tour’s leading player. The program rewards both top finishes and week-in/week-out consistency at all 25 official Charles Schwab Cup events. Points are awarded to the top-10 finishers and ties and are based on the money distribution for each tournament.

The winner of the 2009 Schwab Cup will earn a $1 million annuity.

The Schwab Cup Championship is Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at the Sonoma Golf Club.

E-mail Executive Sports Editor Marty James at mjames@napanews.com or call 256-2223.