Elk Grove, Buchanan favored in inaugural Boras Baseball Classic

The inaugural Boras Baseball Classic gets underway this week in Elk Grove, Calif., pitting 16 of the top programs in Northern California against each other.

The tournament is actually split into three parts with the Northern California tournament this week, the Southern California tournament next week and the winners of the two regional tournaments meeting on April 13 at University of Pacific in Stockton.

"The primary objective of the Boras Baseball Classic is to give back to youth baseball," said Scott Boras, the founder and CEO of Boras Corporation, which is putting on the event. "We want to provide outstanding high school teams a chance to participate in an elite competition, while at the same time giving them a world-class venue to showcase their talent in front of collegiate-level coaches and professional scouts."

The host Thundering Herd of Elk Grove join the Buchanan Bears as the favorites in the Northern Regional and the two teams begin play on opposite sides of the bracket. Elk Grove opens Monday morning against Excel Academy (Stockton) while Buchanan (Clovis) begins play Tuesday morning against Rio Americano. Elk Grove began the season ranked in the Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings, but has since departed following a loss to Campolindo (Moraga). Buchanan joined the Xcellent 25 last week and has moved up to No. 9.



Only two teams come into the event without a loss or a tie. Foothill (Palo Cedro) is 12-0 and has the nation's longest win streak at 29 games in a row. Meanwhile, Deer Valley is 5-0 to start the 2013 season.

Most tournament games will be held at McAauliffe Field with the championship game set for 4 p.m. on March 28 at Sacramento State.

Schedule

Elk Grove (Calif.) vs. Excel Academy (Stockton, Calif.)
10 a.m., Monday
Outlook: Elk Grove is 5-1 on the season with a 4-2 loss to Campolindo (Moraga) keeping the Thundering Herd from a perfect mark. Elk Grove has three of the top players in the country in Ryan Tellez, Dom Nunez and Nick Madrigal. Tellez is ranked No. 24 among the nation's top 100 seniors by MaxPreps while Nunez is ranked 78th. Madrigal is on the list of the top 50 sophomores, coming in at No. 25. Tellez is batting .467 on the season while Nunez is batting .312 and Madrigal .348. Excel Academy is in its first season of varsity baseball and has a 2-3 record. Justice Robinson leads the team with a .400 batting average.

Del Oro (Loomis, Calif.) vs. Yuba City (Calif.)
10 a.m., Monday
Outlook: Del Oro is off to a 1-4 start with a 2-0 victory over Colfax being its only win. Therin Heryford leads the offense with a .357 batting average. Yuba City has been one of the top programs in the Sac-Joaquin Section over the past 10 years, winning four straight Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championships between 2007 and 2010. The Honkers are 2-5 to start the season and have one of the section's top pitchers in Chandler Eden, who has 32 strikeouts in 18.1 innings this year.

Castro Valley (Calif.) vs. Stockdale (Bakersfield, Calif.)
4 p.m., Tuesday
Outlook:  Castro Valley is coming off a 17-8 season and is 4-3 to begin 2013. The Trojans already have a win over Dougherty Valley, a team they could see later in the tournament. Luke Huerta is off to a strong start for Castro Valley, batting .435 (10-for-23). Jason Seever and Andrew Fernandez have been solid on the mound. Seever is 1-2, but has 24 strikeouts while Fernandez is 3-0 with 20 strikeouts. Stockdale is 5-6 and is led by Zach Tanner and Josh Stone. Tanner is batting .414 with 14 RBIs while Stone is batting .483 (14-for-29) with 14 runs scored.

Dougherty Valley (San Ramon, Calif.) vs. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills, Calif.)
4 p.m., Tuesday
Outlook: Dougherty Valley is 5-4 on the season after going 21-7 last year. The Wildcats are in their fifth season of varsity baseball. Cody Snider leads the way, batting. 444 (12 of 27) with a home run while striking out 24 batters in 25 innings pitched. Oak Ridge is 4-1, with the only loss coming against Elk Grove. Austin Root has been outstanding on the mound, going 2-0 with a 1.68 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 16.2 innings pitched.



Foothill (Palo Cedro, Calif.) vs. Rocklin (Calif.)
10 a.m., Tuesday
Outlook: Foothill has the best record coming into the Boras Classic at 12-0. The Cougars also own the longest win streak in the nation at 29 games in a row. Foothill is batting .400 as a team, led by Sean Clark with a .600 average (21 of 35) which includes seven doubles, 17 RBIs and three home runs. Jordan Wade also has three home runs while Justin Allen leads the team with 21 RBIs. Rocklin is 2-3 on the season with two straight losses to Leigh (San Jose) and Franklin (Elk Grove).

Rio Americano (Sacramento, Calif.) vs. Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.)
10 a.m., Tuesday
Outlook: Among the favorites in the tournament, Buchanan is 13-0-1 on the season with a tournament championship at the Coca Cola Classic at Clovis earlier this month. Over the last two weeks, the Bears have been impressive, belting Stockdale 11-4 in the Coca Cola Classic final, Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 9-0, Central (Fresno) 1-0, Clovis East (Clovis) 20-1 and Clovis West (Fresno) 15-1. Rio Americano is 4-3 and is led by Guillermo Salazar, who is batting .348 with two home runs.

Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, Calif.) vs. Rodriguez (Fairfield, Calif.)
4 p.m., Monday
Outlook: Pleasant Grove has averaged 23 wins a season over the past three years and is 5-3 to start 2013. Austin Friello is the top power hitter for the Eagles with three home runs. Sophomore Dalton Gomez leads the pitching staff with a 3-1 record and 22 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched. Rodriguez (2-7) has struggled to start the season, picking up just wins over Vallejo and Vintage. Rodriguez had averaged 24 wins over the past two seasons including a 23-9 record last year.

Deer Valley (Antioch, Calif.) vs. Pioneer (Woodland, Calif.)
4 p.m., Monday
Outlook: One of only three undefeated teams entering the tournament, Deer Valley is 5-0 on the season. Marcus Wise leads the hitting attack with a .400 average (6-for-15). Tyler Vistalli leads the pitching staff with a 3-0 record and 22 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched. Pioneer is 4-2 and is led by pitcher Robert Daugherty, who is 2-1 with 21 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched.

Weather
Weather for the Elk Grove area for the next four days is going to be consistently mild with an average high of 69 degrees and mostly overcast skies. Chance of rain is only about 10 percent with winds of about 10 mph.