Cardiac kids keep on rolling at Yuba

The Yuba College baseball team isn't looking to the past.

That's why the 49ers weren't intimidated by Solano College coming into Appeal-Democrat Park on Tuesday afternoon for a battle to decide first place in the Bay Valley Conference.

The Falcons have been the class of the BVC for the better part of a decade — they won the conference crown each season from 2007-11 and finished second in 2012.

The 49ers' recent past isn't nearly as impressive. Yuba's season win total over the last three seasons has gone like this: 12 in 2010, 12 in 2011 and 11 last year.

Improving that number is the only thing from the past this year's version of the 49ers is concerned with in 2013 — that, and making the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

Yuba's BVC title aspirations continued to look bright as they beat Solano for the first time since 2009 with a thrilling 6-5, walk-off victory in the bottom of the 10th inning on Tuesday.

With the score tied 5-5, former Wheatland High Pirate Tyler Kreditor knocked a single into left field to plate Mike Frantz, who scored from second base.

Kreditor stood on first base with open arms as his teammates poured out of the first-base dugout to mob him on the infield.

"Coach just told me to not do too much because sometimes I'll get ahead of myself and make my swing too long," Kreditor said. "They threw me something offspeed and I was able to put a good hit on it ... it was awesome."

Yuba looked to be in control after storming out to a 5-0 lead after three innings. The 49ers chased Solano starter Nick Driscoll after just two innings of work.

Yuba City High alumnus Christian Divelbiss led off the inning with an infield single before Marysville alum Davis Walker doubled to the wall in right-center.

With runners on second and third, Jimmy Basinger laid down a perfect drag bunt, which allowed Divelbiss to score. Dallas Cummings followed that up with a hot-shot single to third base to plate Walker, and Basinger scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.

Falcons reliever Adam Coats was touched up for two more runs in the bottom of the third on Divelbiss' two-RBI single into left field. Ethan McGill and Kreditor, who reached on a double, both scored on the hit.

The Niners hit a wall after that and went hitless for five consecutive innings. Yuba didn't record a base hit until Dustyn Macaluso's single in the bottom of the ninth.

The lack of offense allowed Solano to make a comeback as the Falcons tied things up in the top of the ninth.

With two outs and a runner on second, Tucker Bishop laced a single into right field off Yuba closer Michael Beck and Zach Welz was able to beat the throw home to make it 5-5.

"These are the top two teams in the conference and (Solano) knew they weren't out of it down 5-0," Kreditor said. "They're not going to give up. We stayed positive the whole game and we still came back.

"We knew we were going to win — we had that mentality."

Yuba starting pitcher Mike Frantz went 72⁄3 innings on 117 pitches, allowing four runs (three earned) with a walk and three strikeouts.

Beck got Frantz out of a jam in the top of the eighth before blowing the save in the ninth. Ethan McGill pitched a scoreless 10th to earn the victory.

Yuba is already sitting at 12-6 this season with 19 games to go and holds a 5-1 mark in the BVC, good enough for a first-place tie with College of Marin.

The last time the 49ers came close to making the postseason was in 2007 when they lost on the last day of the regular season.

Last fall, Yuba College coach Brian Baisch asked his players to accept a challenge with him. A Southern California transplant, Baisch was the 49ers' pitching coach before being called into service as the team's manager when Erick Burns assumed Athletic Director duties.

Baisch, and several other Yuba players, are donning the blue and gold for the first time in 2013. Tuesday's victory, the Niners' fourth walk-off win of the year, summed up exactly what Baisch loves about his team.

"They don't give up," Baisch said. "They fight a lot and we've proved we can win tight games. We're good enough to play with anyone and we're not intimidated."

Yuba hosts defending BVC champion Laney College on Thursday at 2 p.m.