Sierra College Baseball heads into the Big 8 season riding a 5 game win streak, and a 12-2 overall record. The defending Big 8 champions return to the league battlefield for the 2019 season this week, (specific date and time is dependant on weather, click here for up to date schedule info) when they host Diablo Valley in Rocklin.
The 2019 Wolverine squad has so far put up quite the show, with more RBI's (with 145) and home runs (with 16) than any other team in the state, and have outscored their 2019 opponents 161-48.
The Wolverines have scored 161 runs (1st in the state), while batting .315 as a team with an on base percentage of of .435 and a slugging percentage of .487 (good for 1st in California). In addition to outstanding offense, Sierra's pitching can't be overlooked with a team ERA of 2.71 and a batting average against of 1.87 (2nd in the CCCAA), along with two shutouts. In addition, Wolverine pitcher Austin Loeb was the NorCal Co-Player of the Week for the week of February 18 for his win against NorCal foe Feather River College earlier in the month.
On the mound, pitcher Ryan Gil has so far maintained the lowest ERA on the team at 0.78 in 23 innings of work, while also picking up 4 wins and no losses in 5 appearances. The aforementioned Austin Loeb has so far pitched 18 innings with an ERA of 1.50, while picking up 3 wins in 5 appearances.
Offensively, Sierra batters have dominated the stats, with 4 Sierra hitters in the top 10 run scorers in the CCCAA; Zach Bushling has crossed the plate 24 times (2nd in CCCAA), Chase Thatcher and Charles Middleton have both scored 20 runs (T-4th in CCCAA) and Matt Lopez come home 18 times (T-9th in the CCCAA). Matt Lopez and Zach Bushling lead the team in hits with 24 each (T-5th in state) and Zack Jensen has the most RBI in the CCCAA with 23. Zack Jensen and Brandon Motheral lead the team in the home run category, Jensen with 5 (T-2 in CA) and Motheral with 4 (T-3 in CA).
As the 2019 conference season gets underway, Sierra looks to defend their 2018 league title as they gear up for what looks to be an exciting season of Big 8 baseball.
See full 2019 season stats
Additional stats info on the CCCAA website