Yuba College baseball takes opener over Lassen

The Yuba College baseball team hasn't played a full schedule of home games at Appeal-Democrat Park since 1967, yet Christian Divelbiss felt perfectly comfortable in the team's new digs.

That's because he was just there less than a year ago.

Yuba College's starting catcher spent some time with the Marysville Gold Sox last summer as a fill-in player and said he loves the venue formerly known as Bryant Field.

"It really pumps us up and gets us to want to come out here and play every day," Divelbiss said. "You're always going to have those first-game jitters, but you just have to get through it."

Divelbiss and his 49er teammates broke in their new home the right way.

The 49ers took down Lassen College 6-4 at the lakeside ballpark on Friday afternoon in the season opener for both teams.

Divelbiss, a 2011 Yuba City High graduate, broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning with a two-out, two-RBI single into left field to plate both Dallas Cummings (Yuba City) and Colin Gault (River Valley).

Yuba added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, courtesy of Gault's double, which drove in Jimmy Basinger and Alex Klein.

Klein knocked in Marysville alumnus Davis Walker in the fifth inning and Divelbiss scored on a fielder's choice as the Niners were up 6-0 after five innings.

Divelbiss, who played at Butte College last year as a freshman, said he's happy to be playing for his hometown school. Getting to know his new teammates wasn't difficult, considering he grew up or played with nearly half of the players.

"I love all of the guys on the team," Divelbiss said.

He caught a solid effort from Yuba starter Mike Frantz, who was cruising through seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits with seven strikeouts and no runs.

With his team providing a 6-0 cushion, the freshman right-hander got into trouble in the eighth when he surrendered a walk and a single to lead off the inning.

Frantz battled back with a strikeout, but loaded the bases by walking Bruce Butler. Frantz picked up the second out of the inning by striking out Fabian Reza, but couldn't escape unscathed.

Sophomore Bear Engasser crushed a Frantz offering over the right field wall into the netting to cut the Yuba lead to 6-4 with a grand slam.

Granite Bay product Michael Beck relieved Frantz and set down four of the next five batters to pick up the save.

Frantz was the winning pitcher and finished his day with 72⁄3 innings on 112 pitches. He struck out nine, walked two, hit three batters and allowed six hits.

Frantz was a second team All-Metro pick by the Sacramento Bee as a senior last year and played in the Optimist All-Star Game. He ended Yuba City High's season last year in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs with a complete-game victory.

"I tell him where to throw it and he throws it right there," Divelbiss said. "He's good at locating and just loves to go after batters."

Gault led Yuba's hitters with a 3-for-5 showing, while Divelbiss, Walker and Klein each finished 2 for 4. Brandon Lockwood went 3 for 5.

Yuba is armed with 14 Mid-Valley prep products this season as this once-storied program attempts to make the postseason for the first time since the 1990 season.

At the helm this year is acting manager Brian Baisch, who's running the team in place of Erick Burns, who is acting as Yuba College's athletic director.

Baisch comes to Yuba from College of the Desert, located just south of Palm Springs, where he served as pitching coach.

"It's been great so far because (the coaching staff) did such a good job of recruiting last year," Baisch said. "They're making my job really easy.

"It couldn't be a better situation for me as a first-time head coach I have the (athletic director) right there to help me."

Yuba hosts Shasta College today at 1 p.m. at A-D Park.