QUINCY--To be the best, you have to beat the best, right?
The Feather River College baseball team will get that opportunity this weekend at the CCCAA Northern California Championships when they take on No. 1 state ranked Ohlone College. The best two-of-three series begins on Friday in Fremont at 11 am and continues Saturday at 1 pm. The Sunday game, if needed, starts at noon.
The reward for the winner is advancement to the four-team state championship in Folsom, May 28-30. The top two teams from the North and the top two from the South will qualify.
The Golden Eagles advanced to this point in the season by winning the Golden Valley Conference title and a three-game series victory over Cosumnes River. Last weekend, they triumphed over Skyline, which included a wild 12-10 ten-inning victory to clinch.
"That second game was one of the craziest games I have been a part of and it feels good to end up on the positive end of the craziness," said FRC head coach Terry Baumgartner. "Playing at home helped, we had great crowds and great weather. We don't get many games to play at home so we like to take advantage of it when it happens. Last weekend definitely played a part in our success by being at home."
To continue an already highly successful season, Baumgartner's team will have to top the No. 1 ranked team in the state, on Ohlone's field.
The Ohlone College Renegades are 42-4 on the year and went an outstanding 20-0 to win the Coast South Conference. They were 20-2 in Fremont in winning their fourth consecutive league title and fourth straight Super Regional contest. The Renegades have a deep and successful baseball history, which includes winning a state title in 2010 and advancing to the Final Four in 2011.
In 2022, they are hitting .321 as a team and lead every offensive category in their conference. That includes a stunning 152 stolen bases in 46 games and 52 home runs.
Third baseman Jeter Ybarra led the Coast South with a .443 batting average and also paced the league with 68 RBI. First baseman Mykanthony Valdez led the league with 10 home runs and drove in 45 runs, while Takumi Maeno hit .382 with 16 stolen bases. Fellow outfielder Damian Stone stole a conference high 49 bases and scored 53 runs.
On the mound, Ohlone has three solid starting pitchers. Max Gonzales is 11-0 with a 3.32 ERA, while Ethan Foley checks in at 8-2 and a 2.50 ERA. Foley has 87 strikeouts in 79 innings pitched. Sean Fekete rounds out the impressive rotation with a 7-1 record and 2.48 ERA.
"This weekend will be a very tough challenge for our players and coaches as we face the #1 team in the state," Baumgartner said. "Ohlone has a great program with a lot of very good players and their coaching staff does an outstanding job year in and year out. Ohlone likes playing on their home turf so we will have our work cut out for us every game. They are always one of the top teams in the North and the state. Our guys are very excited about the opportunity to play against them."