Sutter senior outfielder/pitcher Rylan Giovannoni (1) smashes a triple to open the Huskies’ 14-0 win over Marysville on Thursday, March 14.

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - The Yuba City Honkers won their opening series of the Capital Valley Conference as they took two of the three games over the Inderkum Tigers from Wednesday, March 13, through Friday, March 15.

Yuba City found themselves down 3-0 in the series opener as junior Brandon Pelechowicz gave up a couple runs in the first inning but was able to settle down for the next four innings as he finished with five innings pitched, surrendered three runs on five hits, five walks and struck out six Inderkum hitters. 

Pelechowicz told the Dispatch after his pitches were established in the first inning, but the adjustment he made in the other innings was the pitch placement to keep the opposing hitters off balance. At the plate in the series, Pelechowicz had four hits.

 Yuba City senior Donny Supat hits a ball in the Honkers’ 6-3 win over Inderkum on Wednesday, March 13.

In game two of the series, the Honkers’ bats erupted as they had an 18-7 victory. Yuba City had a 10-run inning that contributed to the victory, including five hits and four free passes to first base.

Honkers Head Coach Maury Castaneda told the Dispatch he was happy getting the series win. He expressed to the Dispatch that the CVC is a tough conference and it’s comparable to a playoff game each series.

 Yuba City junior Brandon Pelechowicz (23) throws a pitch in the Honkers’ 6-3 win over Inderkum on Wednesday, March 12.

Yuba City dropped the series finale, but the key way for the Honkers to make it back into the playoffs for the second consecutive season is to win the series.

 Yuba City junior pitcher Brandon Pelechowicz connects with a ball in the Honkers’ 6-3 victory against Inderkum on Wednesday, March 12. 

Last year, the Honkers won five out of the six CVC series and finished in second place in the CVC. Pelechowicz told the Dispatch that the 2024 Honkers have a chip on their shoulder about people overlooking the Yuba City program.

“Everyone thought last year was our power squad,” Pelechowicz said. “If we play as a team together, good things are going to happen for us.”

The Honkers were scheduled to play a three-game series against Roseville this week. 

Marysville at Sutter 

SUTTER, CA - The Sutter Huskies swept the Marysville Indians in a Pioneer Valley League double-header on Thursday, March 14, with 14-0 and 12-2 victories.

Sutter remained perfect on the season as Marysville fell to 1-6 at the conclusion of the series.

In the first game, Huskies senior Rylan Giovannoni led the way with three hits, including a triple to open the game and a home run in the third inning. 

Sutter senior pitcher Jagger Beck pitched four strong innings, gave up three hits and struck out nine Indians for his third win on the year.

Marysville’s three hits came off two singles from senior third baseman Wyatt Lococo and a double by senior catcher Noah Criddle.

 Marysville junior Avery Landrum (21) throws a pitch in the Indians’ 14-0 defeat on Thursday, March 14, to Sutter.

Indians junior pitcher Avery Landrum was hit hard by Sutter as he gave up 14 runs off 13 hits in three innings of work.

In the second game, Criddle had a two-RBI double that gave the Indians the lead in the top of the first, but the Huskies didn’t wait long to pounce as they tied in the first off the bat of junior first baseman Brady Wickum’s two-run home run.

Wickum added his second homer of the game in the second inning when he upped with a three-run shot.

Both schools played and won games on Friday, March 15, in the afternoon. Sutter was scheduled to play Twelve Bridges this week in PVL play as Marysville was scheduled to play Bear River.

River Valley

YUBA CITY, CA (MPG) - The River Valley Falcons baseball team was swept in their opening CVC series against Bella Vista. 

River Valley gave up a lot of early runs in the early part of the first two of the games and Head Coach Rob McMains told the Dispatch they need to improve on making routine plays.

He added that he wants to see his team get some hits together in a game. 

The Falcons struggled at the plate against Bella Vista as they struck out 29 times at the plate during the series.

River Valley was scheduled to play at Las Plumas in Oroville on Tuesday and are scheduled to host Grant (Sacramento) today at 4 p.m.