Coming this afternoon

Here's what coming this afternoon in the glorious gold-flagged Enterprise sports section.

Athletes take major jump
With the basketball, diving and wrestling portions of the 2007 West Coast Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics wrapping up earlier this week, a competition of a different sort is taking center stage.
Even though it isn’t an activity shown on TV very often, jump rope is a popular sport among amateurs. Though there aren’t quite as many participants as there were last year, nearly 70 jump ropers will be competing in three different events starting today at Davis High School.

Cats fall to Grizzlies in 16 innings
WEST SACRAMENTO — All the issues facing this River Cats team — the constant shuffling of players, the uncertain bullpen and three-team race that appears to be growing tighter by the day — will still be there today. But by the time Thursday’s marathon game was over at Raley Field, everyone was too exhausted to talk about that.
Fresno’s Justin Knoedler doubled in Tomas De La Rosa with two outs in the top of the 16th inning to give Fresno an 8-7 win over the River Cats. Sacramento rallied in the bottom of the ninth after its bullpen had yielded a three-run advantage in the top of the inning.

McKae mentioned

The good folks at the San Francisco Chronicle have taken notice of the year former Aggie Dave McKae is having. McKae has not had any problems with minor-league hitters and may be pitching himself into the Giants' plans. Between Single-A and Double-A he's 8-1 and has walked just 19 batters in 100 1/3 innings. It will be interesting to see if the Giants decide to put him on the 40-man roster after this year. San Francisco signed McKae as a free agent after the 2004 season.

Here's another thing to keep an eye on. San Francisco's Triple-A team, the Fresno Grizzlies, comes to Raley Field for five games Aug. 22-26. It's not unreasonable to think McKae could be there, especially if he continues on this track and the Giants finally realize they're out of the race and start looking at younger players.

Coming this afternoon

It's a busy day in the B section today in the Enterprise. Here's what to expect:

A cycling team of one

The Team Type 1 team, comprised entirely of cyclists with type 1 diabetes, won the Race Across America in 5 days, 15 hours, 43 minutes. The trek began in Oceanside and wrapped up in Atlantic City, N.J. The twist was: Davis' Matt Vogel and the other seven cyclists were competing against others who did not have to monitor their blood sugar before and after every ride or give themselves insulin shots throughout. They went out to prove that people with well-controled diabetes can accomplish anything they want.

Alger tests skills at Junior Olympics

After competing against the same divers for Davis High School in the Sac-Joaquin Section, Mark Alger was looking
to test his skills against athletes from out of the area. So when he found out that the 2007 Amateur Athletics Union West Coast Junior Olympic Games were being hosted by UC Davis, he jumped at the opportunity to participate in the event at Schaal Aquatics Center.

Barton extends hitting streak

WEST SACRAMENTO — Daric Barton declined his invitation to the Midwest League All-Star Game in 2004, opting instead
to use the plane ticket he had already purchased to travel home. Before Wednesday’s game, he called that decision “a mistake.” He’ll have a chance to make up for it.Barton, the hottest hitter in the entire minor leagues, will be been named to the Pacific Coast League All-Star team when it is officially announced today. He celebrated by extending his hitting streak to 22 games, cracking a home run during Sacramento’s 10-3 win over Fresno at Raley Field.

Arena League veteran

You don't always think of the Arena Football League as a place where players spend a career, but former UC Davis quarterback Mark Grieb would certainly qualify as a veteran. Grieb, in his 10th season in the league, has helped lead the San Jose SaberCats to a 13-3 record, 10 straight wins and the top spot in the upcoming playoffs.

Grieb tossed his 100th TD of the season Monday in San Jose's 73-46 win over the Las Vegas Gladiators. A year ago, Grieb threw for a league-record 4,841 passing yards.

The SaberCats await their opponent in the divisional playoffs July 7. Arena Bowl XXI is in New Orleans this year.

A story on Grieb will appear in the Enterprise in the coming weeks.

Oh, in case you're wondering, Grieb is not the San Jose player with the most time in the AFL. Offensive lineman Chuck Reed is an 11-year veteran.

Coming this afternoon

Here's what to expect today in the Enterprise sports section:

Let there be light?

Night football could return to UC Davis as soon as late September. The university has approved the purchase of lights for Aggie Stadium, the $30 million facility scheduled to host its first football game on Sept. 1. The lights won't be ready for that game, but administrators are cautiously optimistic they could be in place in time for at least part of the coming season.

Yolo Post turns to 'kid'

WOODLAND - With a schedule that has it playing six American Legion games this week, Yolo Post 77 was concerned its pitching staff might get taxed. Enter 15-year-old Blake Reynolds, who had just finished his freshman year at Woodland High School. Called up just for one game, which was allowed because it was a nonleague affair, Reynolds did more than just eat up innings. The young right-hander allowed one run over five innings on Tuesday as Post 77 defeated Roseville 10-4 at Clark Field.

Coming this afternoon

Here's what to expect in Friday's sports section:

In a Galaxy far away ...

UC Davis head coach Bob Biggs swears by his TIVO, and for much of the spring it has been set to record the Frankfurt
Galaxy’s games in NFL Europa. He hopes NFL executives are seeing the same thing he is, that the improvisational flamboyance that made O’Sullivan an all-time Aggie great can work at the professional level. O’Sullivan will get one more chance to showcase his skills Saturday when he leads the Galaxy against the Hamburg Sea Devils in World Bowl XV.

Rainiers outslug Cats

WEST SACRAMENTO — As far as June swoons go, things could be far worse. After all the River Cats remain in first place and figure to be in the Pacific Coast League race for the rest of the summer. But as profligate pitching wasted what should have been a sufficient offensive outburst, Sacramento needlessly gave away a game and allowed the division race to tighten behind it.

Because it's never too early

According to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, UC Santa Barbara is the early favorite to win the Big West men's basketball crown this year. The Gauchos are coached by former Aggie head man Bob Williams. So there you go.

Tyler LaTorre sighting

Stuck in extended spring training for most of the year, former UC Davis catcher Tyler LaTorre has found a team. LaTorre is back with the Salem-Keizer (Ore.) Volcanoes, the Giants' short-season club in the Northwest League. LaTorre was part of the Volcanoes' 55-21 league championship team last year and spent some time in San Jose as well but wasn't assigned to a team coming out of spring training. All that waiting paid off, at least in the season opener, as LaTorre homered against Boise.

At some point, LaTorre figures to cross paths with ex-Aggie teammate Aaron Hanke, who plays for the Yakima (Wash.) Bears, another team in the Northwest League. Speaking of debuts, Hanke homered in his first professional game for the Diamondbacks' farm club.

Coming this afternoon

It's a busy Thursday in the Enterprise sports section. Here's a preview of what's coming:

Locals test Junior Olympics

While out-of-town athletes will dominate the 2007 West Coast Junior Olympic Games, some locals will be trying to test the competition as well. Friday marks the start of the Amateur Athletics Union event where hundreds of athletes ages 8 to 18 will descend on Davis to participate.

Pitchers’ night at Clark

WOODLAND — Oftentimes, if a team can pull out a win, a coach can look the other way at how that team arrived at that result. It wasn’t pretty on Wednesday night at Clark Field but behind a complete-game four-hitter from Thomas Gojkovich, Yolo Post 77 edged the Folsom Flames 1-0 in American Legion action.

Harden sharp in rehab outing

WEST SACRAMENTO — Back in April, relief pitching was supposed to be the River Cats’ biggest strength. But with each injury in Oakland and corresponding roster move, Sacramento’s bullpen has had a revolving door and wildly varied results. So it was nice for Sacramento manager Tony DeFrancesco, if only for one afternoon, to look beyond the right-field fence and see Rich Harden warming up.

And coming on Friday, a feature on former UC Davis quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan, who is playing in the World Bowl this weekend.

Meanwhile, in Germany

Former UC Davis quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan will play for what amounts to a real World championship this weekend. O'Sullivan, a leading contender for MVP of NFL Europa, will lead the Frankfurt Galaxy against the Hamburg Sea Devils in the World Bowl. The game can be seen on the NFL Network at 10 a.m. PT on Saturday.

O'Sullivan currently belongs to the Chicago Bears, and faces an uphill battle to make the roster this fall.

Big West in Omaha

It's a showcase for the Big West Conference today in the College World Series as Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine are playing one another in an elimination game. As I'm writing this, it's 1-0 Titans in the fourth inning. Four teams from the Big West advanced to the postseason, probably a good recruiting tool for UC Davis, which finally becomes an official member next season. Oregon State, another team the Aggies played this year, are in action later in the day in Omaha. If you're wondering, the Ags were 1-7 against the three teams with Brad McAtee and Eddie Gamboa beating Irvine 3-2 for the lone win.

Speaking of baseball, former Aggie ace Dave McKae continues to dominate in Double-A in the Giants' system. In three starts with the Connecticut Defenders, McKae is 2-0 with a 0.39 ERA with 19 strikeouts and no walks in 23 innings. Yes, NO walks. McKae was promoted from Single-A San Jose earlier this month.

And updating previous information, outfielder Aaron Hanke has been assigned to play for the Yakima (Wash.) Bears in the Northwest League after getting taken by the Diamondbacks in the draft. The Bears begin their season on Tuesday. Daniel Descalso, the Ags' ex-sweet-swinging third baseman, will play for the Batavia (N.Y.) Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League. The Muckdogs, a Cardinals' affiliate, begin play on Wednesday.

Coming this afternoon

Today's Enterprise sports section has a little bit of everything. Here's what you'll expect to see when the papers start rolling off the presses:

Little League adopts rule change

Davis Little League will be trying to level the playing field for the majors division. The decision to re-draft players in the age 10- to 12-year-old division for the 2008 season has drawn mixed reviews from managers, parents and players.

Ten days in the sun for Devils

It's not exactly football season, but don't tell that to Davis High School, which just concluded spring practice.

Royster taken

UC Davis outfielder Ryan Royster was picked by the Cleveland Indians on Friday in the 44th round, the 1,308 overall selection. Royster hit .286 with 17 runs scored, 44 hits and 10 steals for the Aggies this past season. Royster is a junior so he has the option of returning to UCD for his senior season. His uncle, Jerry Royster, played 16 seasons in the bigs.

Hanke drafted

UC Davis outfielder Aaron Hanke was picked on the second day of the Major League Baseball draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hanke was selected in the 38th round, 1,144th overall. In his senior season, the cleanup hitter hit .322 with six homers and 41 RBIs. He was the second Aggie drafted this season, joining Daniel Descalso (third round, St. Louis Cardinals).

Descalso picked in third round

The St. Louis Cardinals took UC Davis third baseman Daniel Descalso with the 112th pick in the MLB First-Year player draft.

Check out Friday's Enterprise for more.

Aggies in the draft

Major League Baseball's First-year player draft begins at 11 a.m. today. UC Davis has only had one of its players make the major leagues, pitcher Steve Brown, who the signed as a free agent in 1978. He played in part of two seasons for California, back before that franchise underwent a series a city changes. Here's a list of Aggies going back 10 years that have moved into the pros. The information we have becomes a little sketchy as we go further back (i.e. players that were before my time), so if anyone has updates, I'd love to hear them. Most of these minor league stats came courtesy of The Baseball Cube.

C Tyler LaTorre (2006, Giants, Free Agent): He signed after last season and played at three levels last season. He is currently assigned to extended spring training.

P Dave McKae (2005, Giants, Free Agent): After an injury shortened 2006, McKae seems to have put himself on the right track. He went 5-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 11 starts for Single-A San Jose in the hitter-friendly California League. He was called up to Double-A Connecticut and went seven shutout innings in his first start on Sunday.

SS Ryan Coultas (2004, Mets, sixth round): Coultas was actually taken in the 13th round as a junior and opted to return to school. He's enjoying his best season in pro baseball this year, hitting .280 for the Single-A St. Lucie Mets. He has moved to first base after playing as a middle infielder in his first three years.

OF Robby Tulk (2004, Tigers, 25th round): Tulk hit .220 in one season with Oneonta and did not return to the Detroit organization.

P Joel Needham (2004, Brewers, 32nd round): Needham pitched one year in the Brewers system and then spent a year with the Fullerton Flyers of the independent Golden League.

P Luke Steidlmayer (2002, Padres, eighth round): He pitched four seasons in the minors, making it as high as a single start in Triple-A. His last available statistical data comes from 2005.

P Greg Bruso (2002, Giants, 2002): Bruso played three seasons in the Giants and Milwaukee systems before spending a season with the independent Gary RailCats.

3B Jake Wilson (2000, Angels, free agent): No statistics available

P Justin Reid (1999, Pirates, fourth round): Reid pitched four seasons at Triple-A. Last year he pitched 107 innings for the Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League, compiling a 2-7 record. He signed this year to pitch in Taiwan with the Brother Elephants of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

DH Tim Adams (1997, Angels, free agent): Played one season with Butte of the Pioneer League.

P Ryan Greene (1997, Braves, free agent): Pitched four seasons in the Braves organization, reaching Double-A. His final season was 2000.

SS Tony Schifano (1997, Marlins, free agent): Played two seasons in the Marlins and Blue Jays systems, then spent part of another season in the Dodgers organization, reaching as high as Double-A. He played last season with the Edmonton Cracker Cats of the Independent Northern League, hitting .302 in 14 games.

Coming this afternoon

It's another big day in The Enterprise's superb sports section, which will start rolling off the presses in a mere 90 minutes or so.

The next Eckstein?
Lack of playing time didn’t deter Mike Brown. Neither did his batting average. Brown said no matter what happened, his confidence never wavered. The Davis High School graduate’s resilience paid off handsomely in 2007 for the University of Kentucky. Brown hit .369 for the Wildcats, ending the year tied for third all-time at the school for 68 runs scored in a season and second all-time in sacrifice hits with 12. Now, Brown will wait for his name to be called in the Major League Draft, which begins today and ends Friday. Brown said earlier this season he knows his 5-foot-8 frame is not what scouts always look for, but he’s hoping his numbers will earn him a look.

Decision time for UC Davis infielder
The first round of Major League Baseball’s player draft will be televised for the time today, and Daniel Descalso said he plans to watch. He doesn’t expect to hear his name called that early, but chances are he’ll get to see one of his future teammates selected. The UC Davis junior, meanwhile, expects to have his name called sometime between the third and sixth rounds.

DHS’ Raber has tough time with wind, course at Poppy
PEBBLE BEACH — Davis High School junior Tyler Raber shot an 81 at his first State CIF High School golf championships at Poppy Hills Golf Course.
Raber, a Sac-Joaquin Section champion, was tied for 22nd with three others. Raber said even though he got off to a decent start, he never hit well with his irons.
“There were a few surprises,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting a lot of wind, but it was really windy. I played a practice round there (Tuesday), but they had cut the greens twice, so it made everything a lot faster, so I had to re-adjust again.”

Bishop earns another postseason honor
UC Davis’ Louie Bishop continues to stay hot, even though the men’s golf season has long since ended. The senior was selected as All-America honorable mention by the Golf Coaches of Association on Wednesday, adding to the list of postseason honors. He earned PING Division I All-Region honors last week. Bishop, who posted a school-record 70.7 average this past year, is the first Aggie to earn mention on the Division I All-America golf teams.

Reilly, Guerrieri star at State

SACRAMENTO – There’s no high school event that rivals the CIF State Track and Field Championships. While section championships are impressive, they consist of teams from just a limited area and division.

For the state track finals, there are no divisions, no sections. It’s the best of the best.

And that’s what makes Friday’s preliminary performances at Hughes Stadium by Davis High School’s Lauren Guerrieri and Chelsea Reilly even that more significant. Guerrieri was first among 25 of the state’s best in the girls discus with a top throw of 150 feet, 3 inches. Maybe typical for the senior, the throw came in the third and final round.

Reilly was even more of a surprise, taking first in the prelims of the girls 1,600 with a time of 4 minutes, 50.89 seconds. Reilly has run three of the best races of her prep career in the last three weeks and she may have one more left in the tank. Reilly’s heat featured defending state champ Christine Babcock of Woodbridge. The only disappointing part of the race was not seeing Oak Ridge’s Alex Kosinski, who severely injured her ankle last week and wasn’t healthy enough to run.

The state finals are today. Fellow Blue Devils Laurynne Chetelat and Brendan Gregg will run in the girls and boys 3,200 finals, respectively, along with
Guerrieri and Reilly.

- Matt O'Donnell

Coming this afternoon

Here's what you'll find today in the glorious gold-flagged Enterprise sports this afternoon, all for an eminently reasonable 50 cents.

One goal remains for DHS senior
Lauren Guerrieri has seemingly done it all — claim individual Division I and Masters titles in the discus, advance to the state championships in consecutive years and earn a scholarship to USC.
One other goal is within reach for the Davis High School senior — a state title in her signature event.

Dry spells gone for Cats
WEST SACRAMENTO — Albuquerque intentionally walked Jeremy Brown to load the bases for River Cats shortstop Lou Merloni. And honestly, it made perfect sense. Merloni had been scuffling along in a statistical anomaly of a streak, an everyday player who hadn’t driven in a run in more than a fortnight. Merloni’s response wasn’t necessarily authoritative, but it was effective.