Stassi’s YC boys look to repeat

If the Yuba City High baseball team wins today's Sac-Joaquin Section Div. III championship, maybe the Honkers should be named champions of the Solano County Athletic Conference as well.

The Honkers go after their second straight Section title against Benicia today at 3 p.m. at Sacramento City College.

Yuba City (28-3) also beat Rodriguez in the playoff opener, then took two-of-three from Vanden to reach the championship game.

"It should be fun," Honkers coach Jim Stassi said.

Stassi said he doesn't know a lot about Benicia (22-8), other than the little he saw while the Panthers were playing Woodland and Pionner in the playoffs.

"I know they have a couple of pretty good arms, they pitch well and they play good defense," Stassi said, adding as a team they are batting right around .300.

Stassi will send Brandon Pope to the mound to try to bring the title home.

"Brandon's been tremendous for us," said Stassi, noting especially his work in the postseason.

Pope earned the win against Rodriguez, then came back after the Honkers lost to Vanden and fired a complete-game, 10-strikeout effort to keep the Honkers alive.

"Brandon's a senior and he's got that mentality that you want in tight games," Stassi said. "He's a bulldog who's not afraid to go after hitters."

Pope has an overpowering fastball to keep batters in check. He brings a 6-1 record and a team-best 0.89 ERA into the game.

"Their leadoff batters, their one and two men, are both pretty good," Stassi continued. "We just need to do a good job of keeping those two off the bases. If we can do that, we should be all right."

Stassi expects the Panthers to counter with their ace, Trey Mohammed, a 6-4, 210-pound, hard-throwing right-hander who brings a 5-2 record with a 3.10 ERA into the game.

"He tries to establish his fastball on the outside part of the plate," Stassi said. To counter that, Stassi said the Honker hitters need to be patient and willing to take the ball to the opposite field.

"We don't want to start expanding our strike zone," Stassi said. "We have to think about using our short game."

The Honkers are loaded throughout their lineup with hitters capable of going deep. Leading the way is Max Stassi, who has hit 15 home runs.

Depending upon the situation, though, coach Stassi said every one of the Honkers should be ready to bunt or play hit-and-run ball.

The only real change to the lineup is Kevin Noall, who will bat in the leadoff position and play left field.

"He's back 100 percent," Stassi said of Noall, who played the last two games against Vanden despite battling the flu.

Contact sports reporter Richard Myers at 743-0512 or rmyers@appeal-democrat.com

Know and go

Sac-Joaquin Section Div. III championship

When: Today, 3 p.m.

Where: Sac City College

Radio: KUBA (1600 AM) and KUBA (95.5 FM)