Friday preps spotlight: What A’s reliever Lucas Erceg was like as a South Bay high school star
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BASEBALL: A’S ERCEG’S IS FORMER WESTMONT STANDOUT
Oakland A’s relief pitcher Lucas Erceg caught the baseball world’s attention after he made an early candidate for the defensive play of the year.
After fielding a grounder against the Nationals on Sunday, he flipped the ball through his legs while losing his glove to the first-baseman for the spectacular out.
HIs Westmont coach, Tony Pianto, was not surprised by the great display of athleticism.
“He had the skills and he was a strong kid,” Pianto remembered about Erceg going back to his freshman season. “But he also had a love of the game. I mean, he just enjoyed every minute of playing baseball.”
Erceg was first-team all-Mercury News as a senior in 2013 after he struck out 106 in 83.2 innings, going 9-3 with a 0.59 ERA. He also hit .437 with 22 RBIs and stole eight bases.
“It’s not really a surprise, what he can do on the Athletics, with his athleticism and desire to be good,” said Pianto, a retired fireman who plans on eventually catching an A’s game at the Coliseum.
Pianto, 61, coached at Westmont from 2004 to 2017 before moving to Branham following his retirement from the fire department. He was Landon Jacobs’ assistant coach for one season, and then stepped down as head coach at end of last year.
He wasn’t planning on coaching again, but given the chance to come back to Westmont, Pianto jumped at the opportunity.
After going 12-14 last season, Westmont is 13-6 under Pianto. Pitchers Aiden Kobota and Mason Pound both have ERAs under 2.00, and hitters Matthew Reinhardt and Tyler Risolia both have batting averages north of .300.
“Everything’s good,” Pianto said. “The players work hard, and even though it’s tough to get (what a coach teaches) in just one year,” they’ve definitely bought in.”
– Joseph Dycus
BASKETBALL: MITTY STAR RECEIVES NATIONAL HONOR
It might be softball season, but the individual basketball awards keep on coming for Archbishop Mitty sophomore forward McKenna Woliczko.
After splitting MaxPreps’ national freshman of the year honors with Jerzy Robinson last year, Woliczko was named its national sophomore of the year this week.
The 6-foot-2 forward with scholarship offers from powerhouses such as South Carolina and Notre Dame averaged 22 points and eight rebounds per game for the Central Coast Section and NorCal Open Division champions.
When future UConn Husky and McDonald’s All-American Morgan Cheli missed a month with a leg injury, Woliczko averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds per game to compensate.
The 2023 FIBA U16 gold medalist is already a two-time Bay Area News Group player of the year.
– Joseph Dycus
FOOTBALL: MARCO JONES VISITS TO COLLEGE STATION
While San Ramon Valley’s Marco Jones has been one of the Wolves’ best players on the baseball diamond, the 6-foot-5 power-hitter’s future is on the gridiron.
Over the weekend, Jones took a visit to Texas A&M – a school that is on the four-star linebacker’s Top 10 list.
“Texas A&M was really cool,” Jones said. “Great atmosphere and overall it was fantastic.”
Along with Texas A&M, Jones has narrowed his list of schools to Alabama, Florida State, Maryland, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Texas and USC.
“The main thing for me is a good relationship with the whole coaching staff,” Jones said. “I’ll factor how I fit defensively and if I might go to that school if I didn’t play ball.”
This past season, Jones had 166 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and three interceptions for a San Ramon Valley team that lost in the North Coast Section Open Division and Division I finals.
– Nathan Canilao
BASEBALL: DE LA SALLE’S QUANDARY
De La Salle coach David Jeans has a problem: He has too many great players and not enough spots on his lineup card.
“We have 17 really good hitters that could all start,” Jeans said after De La Salle’s 11-0 win over San Ramon Valley on Wednesday. “We got guys on the bench who can get things done. We have a lot of guys that are really good.”
Just two weeks ago, the Spartans were upset by Dougherty Valley – a team that is six games below .500. But since that loss, De La Salle has outscored its opponents 89-8 while winning five consecutive games.
The Spartans are just now starting to get into form.
Key starters such as two-sport star Alec Blair and sophomore shortstop Tyler Spangler missed time at the beginning of the season because of injuries.
They’re back now.
“I think it’s been huge to just be at full strength,” pitcher Graham Schlicht said.
Jeans said it’s up to the players to compete for spots in the lineup from game to game, but that hasn’t made his job any easier. As a team, the Spartans have a .392 batting average and five players who are top 10 in slugging percentage in the East Bay Athletic League.
De La Salle, which will be aiming to capture its seventh consecutive North Coast Section title next month, has slowly climbed up the league standings. The Spartans are currently in third with a chance to overtake San Ramon Valley for second with a win on Friday.
“I feel like the sky’s the limit if we just stay focused and keep playing our game,” senior Joe McGee said.
BASEBALL: ACALANES IS NO LONGER PERFECT
After 17 consecutive victories to open the season, a run that included a comeback win over College Park on Tuesday, Acalanes encountered a deficit it couldn’t overcome.
College Park held off the Dons this time, winning at home 5-1 to split the two-game series in Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division play.
Samuel Johnston had two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs and Diego Emerling pitched 5 ⅔ strong innings to lead the way as College Park improved to 10-6, 3-1.
Acalanes fell to 17-1, 3-1.
FOOTBALL: CAMPO’S CROSBY SHINES AT CAMP
Campolindo coach Kevin Macy prides himself on basing his successful public school program upon what he calls “neighborhood kids,” average athletes who are coached up to be good players.
Sophomore tight end Crosby Kelly does not fit the mold. He’s 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds with top-notch athleticism.
“He’s got a Division I body and D-1 motor,” Macy told the Bay Area News Group on Thursday. “I think that over the next couple of years, he’ll be polishing his skills and those sorts of things.”
Greg Biggins of recruiting service 247Sports.com reported that Kelly was among the standouts at last weekend’s National Preps Showcase, which featured highly-touted college prospects such as Riordan lineman Tommy Tofi.
Kelly had 5.5 sacks as a defensive end last season, but he impressed as a pass-catcher at the camp.
“He has a big frame with soft hands and runs well,” Biggins wrote. “He definitely has the traits you want to see in a next level prospect.”
Macy said that he could only remember three or four other Campolindo players that he has had since 2000 that had the physical frame to play on a Division I defensive line or tight end like Crosby.
“The few who have stood out are guys like Tyler Petite,” said Macy, referencing the 2015 graduate who played tight end for USC.
– Joseph Dycus
FOOTBALL: SPRING BAY AREA SHOWCASES
A number of Bay Area programs will play host to or take part in college showcases as part of their spring practices.
Here is the list:
May 8: Powerhouse McClymonds will host the third annual Oakland Athletic League College Showcase, where players from Skyline, Oakland, Oakland Tech, Castlemont and Fremont-Oakland will have a chance to perform in front of college coaches. The event starts at 4 p.m.
May 9: Serra will host De La Salle in a joint showcase for the second year in a row from 5-7 p.m.
The home team will run through drills for the first hour, marking the first glimpse at the new-look Padres. Serra graduated star quarterback Maealiuaki Smith and three all-BANG linebackers, among others, from last season’s team that played in the Open Division state title game.
De La Salle, coming off a NorCal I-AA championship, will take the field during the second hour. Scouts will get to watch four-star rising junior Matthew Johnson at edge rusher and three-star safety Robert Santiago.
May 15: Monte Vista will host Liberty, Amador Valley and Clayton Valley Charter in their college showcase. The Mustangs just had Julian McMahan commit to Washington and Kellan Ford to Arizona. The event runs from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m.