Stocker, 49ers exact revenge on Mendo
The Yuba College baseball team finally got a chance to play a home game at Gary Engelken Field on Tuesday, and with it exacted a bit of revenge.
The 49ers had lost to Mendocino seven straight times entering the game and were eager to get back in action after recent showers forced them off their field for nearly three full weeks.
They wasted little time jumping on those pesky Eagles by striking for 15 runs over the first four innings and riding the stellar pitching of southpaw Chris Stocker to pick up an easy 15-1 Bay Valley Conference victory.
The game was just the third in the last 13 days for the 49ers, who were just happy to play a home game after hitting the road for most of the early season.
"It was good to play on our own field," Yuba coach Tim Gloyd said. "The groundballs were the first ones we've took on our field in 17 days — we've been taking them on the football field for a while now."
Yuba (7-11, 3-6) rolled Mendocino from the start by scoring two runs in the first, one in the second and six more in the third and fourth innings to turn the game into a laugher early.
The offensive explosion gave Stocker room to work and he came up big by never allowing the Eagles to get going. Although he gave up a bunt single in the first, Stocker allowed only two more hits the rest of the way in a dominant eight-inning performance.
He finished the day with six strikeouts, three walks and no earned runs allowed before leaving the game with 111 pitches.
"It felt good to get a win," said Stocker, who gave credit to catcher Tony Guidara for calling a good game behind the plate. "I worked out a lot of my problems in the bullpen before the game. My slider was good, and along with that I was able to locate."
All nine of Yuba's starters either had a hit or an RBI in the game. Yuba City High product Brandon Pope led the way by going 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and four RBIs, while Joe Garcia finished the day 2 for 3 with three runs driven in.
Faith Christian grad Micah Atkins went 2 for 5 with an RBI and Guidara was 2 for 3 and drove in a run as well for Yuba, which tallied 15 hits in the game.
"We wanted to establish that we were going to go up there and swing it," Pope said. "We expected to come in and play better. We wanted to show them we're a better team than what we showed last time we played."
The win helped the 49ers avenge an 8-2 loss to the Eagles on March 12 and gave them their first win over Mendocino since 2009.
"We haven't won there in four years and we've tried everything," said Gloyd, who noted that the three-hour bus ride always seems to zap the energy from his club. "We've got down there an hour early, we've watched movies on the way and we haven't watched movies on the way.
"They just have something on us, but hopefully this broke it."
The game was also the first in a stretch that will have the 49ers play nine games over a span of 15 days. They will play at Napa Valley today at 2:30 p.m.
"We're going to be playing every day like the pros and we'll have our starters go every fifth day," Gloyd said. "Hopefully, the weather stays away now."
SOFTBALL
Marin 6, Yuba 0
Marin 1, Yuba 0
The 49ers fell to 0-17 overall and 0-6 in Bay Valley Conference play with a pair of losses at Marin.
Shelby DeLeon went 2 for 3 in the first game and former Colusa High standout Kayla Cunha allowed one run and five hits to suffer the loss in the second game.
Yuba actually outhit Marin 6-5 in game two, but had no runs to show for it.
