Pleasant Grove wins northern regional title at Boras Classic

While one Elk Grove team entered the season ranked nationally with Top 100-ranked players, it was the other team from Elk Grove that came out on top in the inaugural Boras Classic on Thursday.

Elk Grove (Calif.) and Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, Calif.) met for the Boras Classic northern regional championship at Sacramento State and the favorite going into the game was the host Thundering Herd. After all, Elk Grove was nationally-ranked to start the season and had top 100 players Ryan Tellez and Dom Nunez anchoring the lineup.

But Pleasant Grove is taking home the Boras Classic trophy. The Eagles broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the top of the fifth and then put the game away with eight runs in the seventh inning for an 11-1 victory.

Both teams had nine hits, but it was Elk Grove's five errors and wild pitching that contributed to the lopsided Eagle win. Five players were hit by a pitch in the seventh inning, including four in a row with the bases loaded. In total, Elk Grove pitchers hit eight batters during the game.

Bronson Grubbs, Josh Adams and Matt Stafford provided hits in the game for Pleasant Grove, with Stafford ripping a double. Adams, Nico Toni and Beau Boyle all had two hits in the win with Adams getting a triple and Toni rapping a double. Nick Madrigal topped Elk Grove with a 3-for-4 effort while Dom Nunez and Derek Hill each had two hits.

Adams also got the pitching win as he went six innings and gave up one run on seven hits with two strikeouts and three walks.

Pleasant Grove will play the winner of the southern regional of the Boras Classic on April 13 at University of Pacific. The southern regional will be played next week in San Juan Capistrano.

3rd place
Stockdale (Bakersfield, Calif.) 10, Rio Americano (Sacramento, Calif.) 6
The Mustangs managed only seven hits, but took advantage of five Rio Americano errors to claim third place. Zach Tanner contributed five runs as he was 2-for-3 with a double, four RBIs and a run scored for Stockdale.

5th place
Dougherty Valley (San Ramon, Calif.) 10, Deer Valley (Antioch, Calif.) 4
The Wildcats bashed 12 hits to edge their East Bay counterpart Deer Valley to capture fifth place. Alex Murdoch was 3-for-3 with a double while Ryan Winkler was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Brian Hsu and Cody Snider each had two hits as well.

Jordan Rohrberg-Gough led Deer Valley's 10-hit offensive with three while Matt Gavello and Antone Self each had two hits.

7th place
Rocklin (Calif.) 9, Yuba City (Calif.) 3
The Thunder racked up three runs in the first and six more in the second to cruise to a 9-3 win over Yuba City for seventh place. Joey Raymond, Evan Durgarian, Logan Webb, and Griffin Harrell all had two hits apiece for Rocklin. Matt Miller had a pair of doubles for Yuba City.

9th place
Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.) 7, Del Oro (Loomis, Calif.) 1
One of the tournament favorites, Buchanan bounced back from an opening-round loss to win three straight and capture the consolation championship. Trenton Kemp topped the Bears with a 2-for-3 performance that included a double and a run scored. Colton Worthington was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored while Kody Batesole was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI.

11th place
Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) 4, Rodriguez (Fairfield, Calif.) 1
Austin Root limited Rodriguez to one run on three hits while striking out eight to lift Oak Ridge to 11th place. Ross Dwelley paced the offense with a 2-for-3 effort that included two runs and a solo home run.

13th place
Pioneer (Woodland, Calif.) 7, Castro Valley (Calif.) 4
The Patriots rallied with three runs in the sixth inning and one in the seventh to edge Castro Valley for 13th place. Thomas Galart was 2-for-3 on the day with two RBI while Seth Black was 2-for-3 with a double and Andrew Fuentes was 1-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.

Luke Huerta was 2-for-4 with two runs, an RBI and a double to lead the Castro Valley offense.

15th place
Foothill (Palo Cedro, Calif.) 8, Excel Academy (Stockton, Calif.) 0
The Cougars scored five runs in the first inning to end a three-game losing streak. Sean Clark and Eli Putnam each had a triple while Ryan Coleman had a double among his two hits. Chase Larsen got the win, going five innings and striking out five.