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Prep baseball, softball rankings: Small-school star ties state record with two grand slams

Drew Perry of Leroy Greene Academy of Natomas hit a state-record tying two grand slams in a single game.

Drew Perry attends a small school, enrollment 400, but he towers in stature in baseball at 6-foot-6. And now the 215-pound junior slugger has etched his name in the state record books.

The top player for Leroy Greene Academy of Natomas and as unsung of a rising star as you’ll find, Perry had a day to remember on March 20: four hits and a state-record tying two grand slams to go with nine RBI to punctuate a 16-6 nonleague victory over Galt. Perry is batting .667 for the 3-1 Lions, who have lost only to Bee-ranked No. 16 Nevada Union, 7-2.

Perry said he and a lot of his teammates have attended the same classes and have played ball since their middle school days. He was inspired in the Galt game by watching Long Beach State-bound slugger Aidan Hall belt two home runs, saying, “We got punched in the mouth.”

Perry’s first slam was in the fourth inning, a fastball up and in, and he drove it over the left-field fence. In the fifth, he took a pitch low and away and hit it “into the river over the right-field fence,” he said.

“It was pretty great, honestly,” Perry said of his historic day. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal at the time, but as I was helping clean up the field after the game, I thought, ‘You just hit two grand slams and you’re acting like it was nothing.’”

The 3.6 GPA student added: “I never think of hitting a home run because that messes up my approach. It’s not very common, even for just one. Just having the opportunity of having the bases loaded twice in one game is crazy. I’ll never forget it.”

The only other Sacramento-area player to have two bases-loaded home runs in a single game was Kurt Zalar of La Sierra High in Carmichael, doing so in a 27-5 rout of San Juan in 1983, weeks before the school closed. Perry was named Cal-Hi Sports NorCal Athlete of the Week for his efforts.

Apparently, 1983 was the year to swat such home runs in the Sac-Joaquin Section. In addition to Zalar, Tim Langdon of Armijo accomplished the feat in a 13-11 loss to Vintage of Napa, and Steve Bockman of Linden did so in a 15-14 loss to Calaveras. Before Perry’s effort, the last time a section player had two grand slams in a game was in 2004, when Jon Shores of St. Mary’s of Stockton scorched Bear Creek of Stockton in a 14-2 victory.

Herd is the word

Perhaps Joe Bellotti’s best work last week was before any games were played. The Elk Grove baseball coach reached his home ball park well before school started on Monday to work the grounds, to get it game ready in an early season known for rainouts.

Elk Grove was able to play its three-game series against Delta League rival Pleasant Grove, including two home games, moving to 9-1 on the season and 6-0 in league play with a three-game sweep.

In a 7-4 effort to open the series, Elk Grove overcame a four-run first inning as Russell Pettis settled in to strike out five. He allowed no earned runs. Ethan and Chase Groves, Cy Peterson, Ned Frutchery and Tanner McDonnell each drove in a run. In an 8-6 Herd win in Game 2, Frutchery and Cody Pinckney combined for 10 strikeouts. In the 12-3 win in Game 3, Noah Messner drove in two and Eddie Fines had two triples and four RBI, and Nate Gonzalez and Colton Lincoln combined for nine of the team’s 10 strikeouts.

Franklin finds a way

Soaring, top-ranked Franklin is 10-1 after squeezing out three Delta League wins over Jesuit. In an eight-inning, 6-5 series-opening effort, Jordy Lopez scored the winning run, Nolan Stevens had two triples and three runs, and freshman Jason Harris earned the win in relief.

In a 2-0 victory in Game 2, Nic Abraham tossed a complete-game two-hitter, walking one. Derek Pham had three hits and a home run, Noah Meaux had an RBI, and Dylan Minatee scored the first run. In the 7-6 series finale, Franklin scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh and final inning. Seniors Dom Giusti, Meaux and Pham combined for six hits, four doubles, three RBI and four runs.

Franklin starts a three-game series with Davis on Monday.

Rough starts for Jesuit, Folsom

One might look at the bottom of The Bee’s baseball rankings and wonder in what world can Jesuit at 1-7-1 and Folsom at 1-5-2 land in any rankings?

Well, because these are not win-loss standings. They are rankings based on results and strength of schedule, and Jesuit and Folsom have competed against some of the toughest schedules around. Jesuit opened the season with a 4-3 win over Lincoln of Stockton, which is 6-3 and has wins over Bee-ranked programs in Vacaville (3-1) and Rocklin (2-1). The Marauders tied longtime Bay Area power Bellarmine of San Jose, 8-8, a team that is 7-2-1, and Jesuit has a 12-1 setback to longtime Sac-Joaquin Section power St. Mary’s of Stockton.

In Delta League play, Jesuit fell to No. 5 Davis 6-0, 3-0 and 6-5, and then the Marauders dropped three to top-ranked Franklin, 6-5, 2-0 and 7-6.

Folsom opened the season with a 2-1 loss to No. 3 Elk Grove, a 5-2 setback to top-ranked Franklin, a 6-3 loss at De La Salle, which at the time was state-ranked No. 1 by Cal-Hi, and last week a 12-2 loss to No. 14 West Park. Folsom’s win was a 10-7 effort over McClatchy as sophomore Logan Hutton drove in four.

Softball’s new No. 1

Expect a lot of movement in The Bee’s Top 20 this spring as the campaign reflects a balanced playing field where very few, if any, league champions will be undefeated. On the strength of its 5-0 start, Whitney is the new No. 1 team, and the Wildcats of the Sierra Foothill League got here in dramatic fashion.

On Friday, Whitney scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh and final inning to overtake top No. 6 Pleasant Grove of the Delta League 10-9 in a nonleague game. Sophomore Kylie Kitchen was hot at the plate with a home run, a double and five runs batted in against Pleasant Grove.

In a 4-0 SFL win over Del Oro, junior Hannah Duncan tossed a one-hitter and teammate Alyssa Jeffery doubled, tripled and scored a run. The Wildcats stand atop the SFL at 3-0, having already vanquished previous Bee No. 1 Granite Bay and Folsom. Coach Mike Mello’s Wildcats have been perfect while playing the toughest schedule of any regional team thus far. Mello coached Whitney to the 2019 section Division I championship.

Franklin surge

Whitney is not the only Wildcat team on the prowl. The Franklin Wildcats of the Elk Grove Unified School District under first-year coach Jon Gudel have posted an impressive 8-0 preseason mark with the aim of toppling the old Delta League guard of Sheldon, Elk Grove, St. Francis and Pleasant Grove. The Wildcats are ranked No. 5.

Micayla Ariotto, Kealani Nitta and Emily Azemar are all hitting .500 or better for Franklin, which hosts defending Division I section champion Sheldon (3-2) on Wednesday in a Delta League opener.

The Delta was drained of top tier players after graduation and it will be fun to watch who fills the talent pool.

No. 3 Vista del Lago is 5-0 under coach Julie Lazar with wins over Elk Grove and Rocklin. The Eagles have five players hitting .500 or higher, and only one, Morgan Sweet, is a senior. Olivia Manchester has struck out 37 batters in 20 innings.

No. 2 Granite Bay is 6-2 and just a half game back of Whitney in the SFL. Coach Brian Seva, who has been doubling as an assistant coach at Sierra College for Darci Brownell’s 26-1 Wolverines team, saw his Grizzlies rebound from their loss to Whitney with an 8-2 win over Folsom. Senior Kaitlyn Van Dusen and freshman Leilani Terrrazs each have four home runs. Van Dusen leads the team with a .478 average. Terrazas has 13 RBI.

THE BEE’S TOP 20

Softball

Records entering Monday

1. Whitney (5-0)

2. East Nicolaus (6-0-1)

3. Vista del Lago (5-0)

4. Granite Bay (6-2-1)

5. Franklin (8-0)

6. Pleasant Grove (3-2)

7. Inderkum (3-0)

8. Del Oro (2-2)

9. Elk Grove (4-4)

10. Folsom (4-2)

11. Rocklin (5-4)

12. Ponderosa (4-1-1)

13. Oak Ridge (4-1)

14. Sutter (3-0)

15. Sheldon (3-2)

16. Woodcreek (2-1)

17. Wheatland (4-1)

18. Pioneer (5-2)

19. Christian Brothers (5-3)

20. River Valley (3-0)

Bubble: Antelope (2-2); Capital Christian (1-2); Cordova (1-1); Davis (4-3); Dixon (3-2); Laguna Creek (4-0); Marysville (4-4); Oakmont (3-2).

— Pete Dufour/PeteBeeSports@Gmail.com

THE BEE’S TOP 20

Baseball

Records entering Monday

1. Franklin (10-1)

2. Whitney (7-1)

3. Elk Grove (9-1)

4. Pleasant Grove (6-3)

5. Davis (7-2)

6. Granite Bay (3-3)

7. Woodcreek (3-3-1)

8. Oakmont (5-2)

9. Oak Ridge (3-4-1)

10. Del Campo (5-5)

11. Rio Americano (6-1)

12. Del Oro (4-2)

13. Rocklin (4-5)

14. West Park (6-2)

15. Vista del Lago (4-4-1)

16. Nevada Union (8-1)

17. Bella Vista (7-1)

18. Bradshaw Christian (5-0)

19. Jesuit (1-7-1)

20. Folsom (1-5-2)

Bubble: Casa Roble (8-2); Christian Brothers (3-3-1); Colfax (5-0); Dixon (6-2); Laguna Creek (4-1); McClatchy (4-6); Pioneer (3-1); Placer (3-1); Ponderosa (2-1); River City (8-3); Roseville (4-3); Vacavile (3-6); Valley Christian (3-1); Woodland (3-2); Yuba City (5-4).

— Joe Davidson/jdavidson@sacbee.com