Indians baseball making noise

After going 13-10 and earning a surprise trip to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI playoffs a year ago, coach Jay DeAlba and the Marysville High baseball team enter the 2010 season with heightened expectations.

And why shouldn't they?

With junior standout Derrick Brown and five starters returning to the team, the Indians (4-1) bring back nearly every key piece from last year's squad while being bolstered with the addition of a strong junior class.

On Monday the Indians illustrated their point, jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the third inning and cruising to a 9-3 nonleague victory at Gridley.

"We got a lot of talent and we're starting to use it a little more, so they're getting there," DeAlba said. "We're going to be competitive. It's as good a team as we've had in a long time around here."

The Indians scored two in the first inning, four in the second and another two in the third before DeAlba lifted most of his starters and emptied his bench. Brown did his part by reaching base in all three of his plate appearances and finished with a pair of RBIs, while lifting his batting average to .750.

Colby Givens went 2-for-3 with an RBI double, three steals and two runs scored and leadoff hitter Blake Freechtle was 1-for-2 with an RBI double and scored twice as well for the Indians, who out-hit Gridley 10-5 in the game.

But while many pieces of the puzzle returned from last year, no player has given the Indians more of a boost than freshman clean-up hitter Chad Perry.

A muscular 6-foot-2 pitcher/first baseman, Perry hit the ball hard in both of his at-bats before leaving the game in the fourth. He finished 2-for-2 with an RBI single in the first inning and a double off the fence in center in the second, raising his batting average to .461.

"We needed another bat to come through, and for a guy to come in as a freshman and hit the ball like that says something," DeAlba said.

Scott Keirsey, Kody Childers and Davis Walker combined to earn the win for the Indians, while shortstop Colby Givens and Walker at second excelled in the field.

"Defensive-wise these guys are playing really well, and especially up the middle," DeAlba said. "It seems like we're turning a double play every day"

Ty Nichols went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI and CJ Stair drove in two runs to lead Gridley (0-3), which is just getting back in baseball shape after its basketball team's extended run in the playoffs.

"We've had two days of practice since basketball ended and we turned around and played two games on Saturday," Bulldogs' coach Dan Crabtree said. "We're just getting back in the groove. The ball is a lot smaller than the one they've been playing with for the last few months."