Game Notes (CA): Elite 8 Day 1

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San Jose, CA - Day One of the first round of the Saint Francis Elite 8 Tournament saw 2 games and with 4 teams from different parts of Northern California matching up. Below is a breakdown on the players who stood out including in-depth coverage with video.

Game Results:

GM1:

Washington (Fremont) - 6

Monte Vista - 1

GM2:

Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) - 4

Casa Grande (Petaluma) - 3

Players of Note:

2020 SS Jake Serpa (Washington) - Uncommitted. Medium frame with width across shoulders swang the bat well during the game. Bat was on time with the pitcher all game squaring ball up twice. Singled in 2nd AB staying back on hanging breaking ball and drove a FB for a ground-rule double in 3rd AB. Showed the ability to make the plays in his range with a fringey arm.

2020 C Niko Lombardi (Washington) - Uncommitted. Strong medium frame showed a compact bat with quick hand speed making hard contact three times. Kept a simple setup and approach without chasing bad pitches. Got a hanging breaking ball in 1st AB and squared it up right at the left-fielder. In 2nd AB got hanging breaking ball again and lined it into CF. Last AB lined a drive right at the CF. Fair arm strength showing decent blocking skills.

2019 RHP Ben Clark (Monte Vista) - Dixie State Commit. Large, wide-full frame with length in the lower half. Compact arm swing to H-3/4 that was hard to pick up for the first few innings. FB was 80-85 T86 MPH with lower velo from the stretch. Heavy arm-side run able to use it on both sides of the plate; really used it off the plate glove-side letting it run back over the plate. CB 12/6 shape with short downer actions used mainly glove-side. Pitched well for the first three innings, but pitches moved over plate in 4th leading to some hard contacts and 5 runs against.

2019 SS Matthias Haas (Bishop O’Dowd) - Brown Commit. Medium, athletic frame that is mature with strength. On base three times in the game also showing rhythm and fundamental footwork during the game. Arm is solid with a high release playing well on the move. Showed consistent barrel turn with pull side focus picking up big double in 6th to put Bishop O’Dowd ahead for the win.

2020 C Cole Santander (Casa Grande) - Cal Commit. Strong medium frame with sloped shoulders and full build. Showed off a quick bat to the pull side with a solid hit tool; ripped a double into LCF in 1st AB (4.83T). Catching skills were solid with quick side-to-side agility and the ability to be in a strong blocking position. Arm was fair having times where it was pushy on throws as Bishop O’Dowd tested him during the game; 2.13-2.16 Pop times.

2019 RHP Wyatt Thompson (Bishop O’Dowd) - Uncommitted. High-waist medium frame with wide shoulders and lean build. Went CG giving up 3R on 5H while striking out 12. Plus tempo on the mound showing full back turn while hand has stab down before H-3/4 release. Attacked with the FB moving it to different parts of the zone and changing the sequences (82-85 MPH). Showed two fair off-speed pitches with CHG having late action off the FB look (69-72 MPH) and an overhand CB with small downer actions (71-74 MPH) getting swings and miss with both of them.

In-Depth Coverage:

2019 SS Tom Gavello (Monte Vista) - Pacific Commit. Medium frame with wide shoulders and high waist showing athletic build. 1-4 with 2 hard hit balls including a 3B

UPCOMING EVENTS: