The 49th Annual Fresno Easter Classic Baseball Tournament got underway on Monday and featured 36 teams for in-and-around the Central Valley. Widely regarded as one of top tournaments in the state, the talent on the field backed up that distinction. I took in four games on the day beginning at Clovis High School before heading over to Buchanan High School and ending at Clovis West High School for the final two games. Four games in all and that turned out to be a great day of baseball.

The Central Valley and surrounding areas has long had a tradition of great baseball talent and teams, and today I was fortunate enough to see a few of those Blueblood programs (Clovis, Buchanan, Clovis West) along with a program on the rise (Redwood).

Let's take a closer look....

Redwood 2 Clovis 0

Redwood trotted out junior righty Cam Gallardo to face Clovis who countered with sophomore Noah Beal. Gallardo was good from the outset challenging Clovis hitters with his fastball that showed late life and ran into right-handed-hitters at 83-86 mph. He then broke off a tight, sweeping slider at 74-77 mph that, when he commanded it, was virtually unhittable. Beal was equally as impressive working spotting his fastball from black-to-black and changing eye levels with it. Working primarily 80-82 mph with the pitch, he showed durability by touching 83 with the fastball in the 5th inning. Beal showed a lot of moxie in the bottom of the fourth when after back-to-back base hits and walk, he induced an inning ending groundout to keep the score tied at zero. Redwood would score in the fifth after an infield single by Davis Beavers got things started. He stole second and was sacrificed to third before a Elijah Munoz squared up a pitch for a double that sailed over the center-fielders head scoring Beavers. Redwood added another in the sixth when Donte Valdez's double was followed by an error in the Clovis outfield. Hunter Bryan, a Fresno State commit, came in to close the game out for Redwood and was 87-90 mph with his fastball. He also flashed a slurvy curveball at 72-74 mph to go with a 79-80 mph changeup.

Jesuit 8 Buchanan 2

Jesuit started senior RHP Cody Jensen, a Stanford signee and it was game on from first pitch. Jensen was electric and used a bit of a quick pitch approach to keep Buchanan hitters off balance. Jensnen showed an explosive, tailing fastball that was 87-91 mph and he maintained his velocity into the 6th where he sat 86-87 mph. He pounded righties in on the hands - including a questionable foul ball call that clearly hit a Buchanan hitter on the hands. His downer curveball was and late-tilting slider were very good compliments to his fastball. 2019 1B Carter Benbrook (Washington) and 2020 third baseman Daniel Susac (Oregon State) were standouts at the plate for Jesuit. Each had multiple RBI for the Marauders who batted around in the sixth inning to break things open. Luke Williams also showed well for Jesuit and is one to follow. For Buchanan, Brock Jones and Brady Hormel showed why they're such highly sought after recruits. Both are physical top-of-the-lineup type hitters that have mature approaches at the plate. While neither was rewarded much for some good at-bats, both showed the tools that college coaches desire both offensively and defensively.

Granite Bay 7 Edison 1

Edison got on the board in the top of the first then it was all Granite Bay from there. The Grizzlies left-handed starter, Kyle Sisco, was impressive in the way he attacked hitter with his fastball and put them away with his curveball. The senior southpaw was 80-82 mph with the fastball and 67-70 mph with the curveball. The big hit for the Grizzlies came off the bat of senior Zach Grable who hit an absolute no-doubter into the trees over the right field fence. For Edison, freshman shortstop Stephen Shelly shows some defensive tools that play up and should only improve as his body continues to grow. Sophomore second baseman Joey Evangelho also shows some tools both defensively and at the plate that project. And finally, sophomore Tory Horton is a long, lean hyper-athletic player that covers a lot of ground in center field and showed good command of his fastball and curveball on the mound.

Clovis West 16 Granite Bay 0

Clovis West, ranked #7 in the state by Prep Baseball Report, looked the part of one of the state's top teams tonight. Senior starter Dusty Schramm was lights out this evening. Pounding the zone at 88-90 mph, the uncommitted senior immediately caught the attention of each of the five college coaches in the stands there to see him. Schramm worked almost exclusively with the fastball, only throwing two sliders on the night. The Golden Eagles potent offense dismantled Granite Bay early thanks to a defensive miscue in left field that extended the inning. Junior shortstop Karson Simas took advantage of the inning extension by smacking a two-run double to centerfield in which he showed great feel for the barrel by going down to get a perfectly located pitch. An inning later he smacked an RBI single and busted out of the box and took second by the time the ball was cut-off by the first baseman. Not to be outdone, uncommitted senior Kohl Simas smoked a 3R HR over the left-field fence. The Golden Eagles began to empty the bench in the fourth giving virtually every hitter an opportunity at the plate. Rodney Wright was impressive for Clovis West. He has a mature approach to hitting and shows good defensive instincts making it easy to see why, if he chooses to focus exclusively on baseball, he would have a chance in the MLB Draft either this year or in the future. Toolsy, physical outfielders like that don't fall off trees!