MEL, SCAC baseball stars to vie

NOTES AND QUOTES for a Monday in the Napa Valley:

Napa High School’s Todd Pridy will coach the Monticello Empire League against a team from the Solano County Athletic Conference in tonight’s MEL vs. SCAC baseball game at 7 p.m. at Laurel Creek Park in Fairfield.

Steven Nagy (pitcher-outfield), CJ Blom (pitcher-first base), Trevor Diskin (pitcher-infield), Ben Ballantine (pitcher-outfield), Brandon Savin (outfield) and Michael Crandell (catcher) will represent Napa, the MEL champion, which advanced to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I North playoffs last month.

Vintage’s Quin Donahue and Trevor Larsen, both outfielders, are also on the MEL team.

Seniors from the MEL and SCAC make up the rosters. Besides Napa and Vintage, the MEL also has Armijo, Fairfield, Vacaville and Wood.

“We’re getting the cream of the crop here for this game,” said Pridy. “The majority of these seniors are usually four-year guys in the program. They understand the game pretty well. There’s good coaching throughout the league.”

Coach Jason Chatham of Rodriguez-Cordelia will lead the SCAC, which also has Vallejo, Bethel-Vallejo, Hogan-Vallejo, Vanden-Fairfield and Benicia.

“There’s going to be some talented ballplayers on that other squad,” said Pridy.

It’s a nine-inning game with players wearing their high school uniforms. There used to be a North-South game played at Wilson Park in Vallejo, but the area hasn’t had a postseason contest featuring top seniors in several years.

“No. 1, it’s a showcase, so we want to make sure that everybody gets on the field,” said Pridy. “My biggest concern is letting them feel like they’ve got a chance to get on the field and represent themselves, their school and their league.

“I’m going to have to figure out how to get 24 guys into the game and try to win a ballgame.”

Nagy will be the MEL’s starting pitcher, said Pridy.

“We’re going to put a solid lineup out there,” said Pridy, who will be assisted by his staff at Napa High (Jim Campbell, Bob Barbos and Chris Holman).

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Rodriguez catcher Geno Escalante, who has committed to attend Cal State Fullerton on a baseball scholarship, won’t be participating in tonight’s all-star game. The same holds for Vanden’s Andrew Aplin, an outfielder-pitcher, who has a scholarship to play at Arizona State. Both are expected to be selected Tuesday in the Major League Baseball draft of amateur players.

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Vintage’s Lonnie Handy placed 16th in the boys pole vault at the CIF State Track and Field Championships. Handy cleared the opening height of 14-3, but not the next height (14-9) during Friday’s trials at Veterans Memorial Stadium on the campus of Buchanan High-Clovis. Only the top nine moved on to the finals.

Handy was ranked 14th in the state going into the prestigious meet and had two very good attempts at 14-9.

Next for Handy is the Adidas Golden West Invitational in Folsom on June 13.

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The Napa Legion 19’s made it five wins in a row, beating the Santa Rosa American Athletics Friday at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville, 16-5, to complete a sweep of a three-game District 5 series.

Chris Hard (3-for-5, three runs), A.J. Borja (3-for-4), Brandon Savin (2-for-3, two RBIs, three runs), Mike Santora (2-for-3, two doubles, two RBIs), Ben Ballantine (2-for-3, double, four RBIs, two walks), C.J. Blom (2-for-3, two RBIs), and Michael Crandell (2-for-4, double, three RBIs) led the way for Napa (8-2 overall, 5-1 District 5).

“Our main emphasis was to not let this game be a letdown and affect our overall District 5 standings at the end of the year,” said Napa manager Billy Smith. “Our kids did just that.”

Napa struck for five runs on four hits and two walks in the first inning. The Legion 19’s scored six more runs on five hits, including three doubles, in the second inning.  

Trevor Diskin started and went four innings to get the win, allowing eight hits, two runs (both earned), walking three, striking out two and hitting three batters. Josh Cariela (three innings, four hits, one earned run, three strikeouts, one hit by pitch), and CJ Blom (one inning, two hits, one earned run) pitched in relief.

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Kevin Alexander finished in a tie for 10th, shooting rounds of 76 and 75, in the 44th annual Northern California Golf Association Public Links Championship at Spyglass Hill Golf Course on the Monterey Peninsula last week. Alexander, who plays out of Napa Golf Course in Kennedy Park, qualified for the event at Ancil Hoffman Golf Club in Carmichael on April 30 with a score of 74.

Alexander also qualified last week at Coyote Creek Golf Course as the first alternate for the NCGA Amateur Stroke Play Championship, to be held at Poppy Hills Golf Course on July 10-12. He birdied the last hole to finished with a 75.

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The Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club will return to the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am as one of the host venues for the 2010 PGA Tour event. The tournament is slated for the week of Feb. 8-14.

MPCC will take the place of Poppy Hills Golf Course in the three-course rotation, which also includes Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill. The event was last played on the Shore Course in 1977.

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

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