17 Years of Tradition and Quality Baseball

UNIFORM CODING:  (ALWAYS HAVE YOUR DRI-FIT AND WHITE CAP IN YOUR BAG EVEN WHEN OTHER UNIFORMS ARE USED IN CASE THE WEATHER IS VERY HOT) W=WHITE, DRI=DRI-FIT WITH YOUR NAME ON BACK, G=GOLD

(JERSEY/CAP) 

FRI JUL 11: G/G    ---WOOD BAT LEAGUE GAME---

SAT JUL 12: W/W   METAL  DOUBLEHEADER

HOOT TOURNEY (SHOW UP WITH DRI-FIT/WHITE CAP)  ---METAL---

FOR TOURNAMENTS, SHOW UP 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES BEFORE GAME TIME, FOR NON-TOURNAMENTS, SHOW UP 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES BEFORE GAME TIME.   WE WILL DO 30-45 MINUTES OF SOFT TOSS, BP AND GROUNDERS BEFORE OFFICIAL FULL TEAM WARMUPS.  PLAYERS ARE TO SHOW UP IN FULL UNIFORM TO THE GAMES. 

Smoke win both ends of doubleheader against the Tracy Cardinals

Thomas Cortese pitched 5 solid innings of no-hit baseball and his relief Tucker Minor finished the job with two innings not allowing a hit.  This was the best outing of the year for Cortese as he blanked the Tracy Cardinals 4-0.  "Thomas had total control of the game combining strikeouts with ground balls.  It was a tremendous performance".  Scott Mitchell led the Smoke with a 3-4 day with a couple RBI's.

In the nightcap, Nick Rossetta pitched five solid innings in a 8-4 victory with Tyler Lanham getting the save. The big hit was a bases loaded triple by Kyle DeMerritt and a 2 run double by Pat Stover.

The Smoke have received good performances all around as the team has won 12 of its last 13 games to improve its record to 18-6. 

SMOKE ROUT ARSENAL 7-0 AND AZTECS 7-0

TO WIN USABF CAPITAL CLASSIC IN SACRAMENTO

SMOKE WIN 7 GAMES IN STATE CAPITAL TOURNEY

Thursday June 18th:   CA SMOKE 4  vs Sac Babe Ruth Dogs  1,   WINNING PITCHER:  KENTON BEVACQUA

Friday June 19th:   CA SMOKE 4 vs California Arsenal 6

Friday June 19th:  CA SMOKE 8 vs Bay Area Warriors 1,  WINNING PITCHER: NICK ROSSETTA

Saturday June 20th:  CA SMOKE 6 vs East Bay Aztecs 4, WINNING PITCHER: TYLER LANHAM

Saturday June 20th: CA SMOKE 8 vs Diablo Valley Patriots 7, WINNING PITCHER: KENTON BEVACQUA

2 out hits by Mignano and Pereria tie game, Patrons double off wall

sets up White with game winner as Smoke erase 5 run deficit.

Sunday  June 21st:  CA SMOKE 3 vs Sac Dogs 1,  WINNING PITCHER:  AUGIE BILL

Semi-Finals June 21st: CA SMOKE 7 vs California Arsenal 0,  WINNING PITCHER: NICK SANZERI

CHAMPIONSHIP:  CA SMOKE 7  AZTECS 0, WINNING PITCHER: TUCKER MINOR 

“AROUND THE HORN"

                       PITCHER STARTS TO CATCHER, 1B, 2B, 3B TO HOME                                     

“OUTFIELD RELAY

STARTIN CENTER FIELD, RELAY TO INFIELD CUT, TO HOME

“FASTEST AROUND THE BASES"

START AT HOME AND FINISH AT HOME

Smoke fireballer Nick Sanzeri went the distance in a 8-0 complete game shutout of the Norcal Juniors in a sunny day at University of San Francisco.  Nick pitched ahead in the count all day and came up with big strikeouts whenever it was needed.  The offense worked hard to put scoring into 4 of the 6 offensive innings.  Quinton Perry and Pat Stover came up with big hits for the Smoke.  But the day belonged to Sanzeri as he impressed with over six division 1 coaches attending.

In the nightcap, Tucker Minor and Juan Padilla (norcal) pitched complete games in a 3-2 win by Norcal who broke the 2-2 tie in the bottom of the sixth with two out.

Our Smoke SS, Kyle DeMerritt, has been chosen as one of 20 players to represent the North in the North South games in San Diego.  This is a huge honor as over 150 juniors are nominated from Northern California for this tryout.   Good luck Kyle and show them how we play Smoke baseball. Make sure to let them know your name is not McDermitt. 

The Smoke also congratulate our six players selected to BAWS:  Kyle DeMerritt, Nick Rossetta, Trevor Dyer, Kyle Macey, Jesse White and Nick Sanzeri.    Nick Rossetta was selected to the All-Star Team.

3 Year Smoke Lefty David Hurlbut was selected in the 35th round by the Minnesota Twins.  David has a scholarship at Cal State Fullerton after an excellent freshman season at Diablo Valley College.  David, nicknamed "Booty" due the Hurlbut in his name, set an all-time Smoke pickoff record with 4 pickoffs in one game and 2 in one inning.  He would sometimes come in the game as a reliever and within 2 pitches, got the pickoff to get us out of a jam.  He was an excellent starting pitcher with three solid pitches (yes booty we want a curveball) and great competitiveness on the hill. Congratulations Booty on the honor.

Current outfielder Pat Stover who has a scholarship to Santa  Clara University next season was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 17th round.  Pat is quite an athlete, competing on the State championship runner-up Rocklin basketball team and also their baseball team.  He is expected to drastically improve as a baseball player when giving 100% of his time to one sport. Congratulations Pat on the honor. 

The Smoke are fortunate to have "Q" (Quinton)  Perry as the young man behind the plate at catcher.  Quinton was an area code catcher and has a scholarship to attend Santa Clara University.  Even though he lives over 5 hours away in Susanville,  he is playing for the Smoke at the recommendation of the Santa Clara University coaches.  He will be one of several out of town guys who we will be hosting in various coach and player homes.

During one stretch of last years high school season, Quinton hit 11 home runs in 12 games. He combines that hitting with a strong arm and great fundamentals behind the plate.  He is also the Varsity quarterback for his high school.  Having Quinton help our up and coming sophomore catchers will be valuable for the next two years as we don't antcipate having to look for catching till 2012.  Welcome to the Smoke Quinton.

J.R. GRAHAM COMPLETES MVP SEASON

 J.R. Graham finishes off his 3rd year on the California Smoke in style.  He started as a 15 year old part-time 2nd baseman with flashes of potential and finishes as the 18 year old Smoke MVP shortstop and ace closer. He now goes on to Santa Clara University with a baseball scholarship. According to Coach Joel.." J.R. was the face of the Smoke. J.R. just got better and better each year.  He was instrumental in the yearly improvement of the Smoke these past 3 years. He hated to lose as much as any player I have ever had. To see him grab the ball and pitch the way he did against Washington's Taylor baseball was a capsule of everything we wanted to achieve for J.R. and the Smoke. It was a fitting way for him to graduate in his final game on the mound for the Smoke...knocking off the best team we played all summer. J.R. will go down as one of the top players in the Smoke's 16 year history. Great job J.R and the Smoke will miss you."

 J.R.'s 2008 MVP Season Stats:

Down in San Diego at the USABF Tournament, the Smoke started pool play with 4 wins over San Diego team to reach the 43 win mark on the season with a potential 5 games to go.  It is an amazing accomplishment by these young men to win that many games over the summer.  In game #1, the Smoke won 3-1 behind the pitching of Nate Underwood and save by J.R.Graham. Highlights included a throw out at the plate by Brett Christopher from Centerfield.  In game #2, the Smoke won 5-1 behind the pitching of Trevor Howard and Nick Sours.  The offensive highlight was J.R. Graham's 2 run homer after a Brett Christopher triple. Smoke win Game #3 5-0 behind Tyler Bremer's complete game.  Smoke win Game #4 8-5 behind Joe Sylvester's win.  The Smoke now lock up with 4-0 Taylor Baseball from Washington for the #1 seed at the end of pool play in the 17 team bracket.  Taylor Baseball breaks a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the 7th for a 5-4 win over the Smoke.  The Smoke are still guaranteed a bye in the playoff round with the 4-1 record.  SMOKE TAKE THE #3 SEED GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS.  Behind Nate Underwood and Tyler Bremer, the Smoke roll to a 6-1 victory in the first round of the playoffs.  Jake Sylvester's 2 run bomb put the game out of reach after the Smoke took the lead on J.R. Graham's double with Brett Christopher on the move from first base.  Other key hits were the double by Kyle DeMerritt and the 2 hits by David Buscovich. The Smoke now earned another bye and rest for Friday's single elimination round:  #3 Seed California Smoke vs #5 Seed California Arsenal, 1 p.m. at Southwestern College.  SMOKE 15 ARSENAL 7 (JOE SEVER WALKOFF HOMER, TREVOR HOWARD WIN).   SMOKE 2  TAYLOR 1 (J.R. GRAHAM WIN, NICK WHITE GAME TYING HIT ON 0-2 COUNT IN 7TH INNING WITH 2 OUTS FOLLOWED BY GAME WINNING DOUBLE BY JAKE SYLVESTER )

  A week earlier.....

The 2008 California Smoke, with the 8-3 win over Tracy Connie Mack, tied the 2004 club for the most wins in a season at 36.  The 2008 club has about ten games to go to break the mark. The winning pitcher for the record was Nick Sours who joins Daniel McDaniel of the 2004 team (Oklahoma State/San Francisco Giants draftee) for the mark. Nick pitched 3 innings and was followed by Trevor Howard for three scoreless innings.     Nate Underwood paced the offense with 2 hits and Jacob Sylvester broke the 3-3 tie with an home run.

2004 Club -  36-16  Reno 4th July Champion,  California State Championship 3rd Place American Legion

THE CALIFORNIA SMOKE NOW HAVE THE MOST DIVISION I COMMITTED PLAYERS IN ITS HISTORY ON ONE YEARS SQUAD (14).   CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THESE YOUNG MEN ON REACHING THEIR DREAMS.

J.R. GRAHAM - SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY, JAKE SYLVESTER -  UNIVERSITY OF PACIFIC, SCOTTY LYMAN  - U.C.  DAVIS, ANDY HENNESSEY - SAN JOSE STATE, BRETT CHRISTOPHER - UNIVERSITY OF PACIFIC, RYAN PALERMO - U.C. SANTA BARBARA, TYLER BREMER - U.C. DAVIS, LOGAN SCOTT - U.C. BERKELEY, DAVID BUSCOVICH  - U.C. BERKELEY, JOE SEVER - PEPPERDINE, CHRIS MENDOZA -  SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY, NATE UNDERWOOD -  LONG BEACH, MARKUS MELGOSA - ST MARY'S COLLEGE , DAVID HURLBUT- LONG BEACH

AND CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR OTHER SENIORS WHO WILL PLAY JC BASEBALL:

NICK WHITE - COLLEGE OF SAN MATEO,  KYLE HOLMSTROM - OHLONE,  ROBBY ROGERS - SOLANO,  STEVE CARROLL- CHABOT

After beating Tracy 9-4, West Lane 11-0, Danville Hoots 16-3 and Santa Rosa 5-4, the Smoke carried a 4-0 record in the championship games.  Danville came out with superb pitching and took the must win doubleheader 2-0 and then 3-2 in a dogfight championship game which ended with the Smoke loading the bases with 2 outs. 

SMOKE WIN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRECRACKER TOURNAMENT 

FINISH WITH 12-4 WIN TO CAPTURE 32 TEAM TOURNAMENT

Behind excellent pitching, defense and  hitting, the Smoke went 6-1 in Southern California to claim the Firecracker Championship.  In Game #1, the Smoke won 6-0 over the Norcal Waves as Tyler Bremer pitched a complete game shutout.  Scotty Lyman had the game winning hit in the 6th inning.   In Game #3, the Southern California Renegades came back from a 4-0 deficit in the 5th inning after Nate Underwood blanked them for 4 innings. Final Score 6-5 .  The Smoke had a playoff berth wrapped up and saved remaining pitching. Game #4 was the first playoff round as the Smoke routed Riverside Rangers 8-5 behind Tyler Bremer and David Hurlbut.  Homers by Scott Lyman and Nick White paced the offense.  In Game #5 of the playoffs, the Smoke won 6-2 after Kyle DeMerritt laced a tying single.  Joe Sever continued his hot hitting pacing the win.  In the Semi-Finals, the Smoke received a bye win from the Renegades.  The championship was close for only 2 innnings as the Smoke offense scored 12 runs from the CenCal team.  Markus Melgosa and Joe Sever again paced the offense.  Kyle Holmstrom made the best catch of the tournament in deep foul ground with a diving catch from first base.  Nate Underwood and David Hurlbut combined to pitch a gem of a championship game.  Congrats to all Smoke players on the first Southern California Championship.  One final note; Congrats to 2nd baseman Joe Sever on his MVP selection which was well deserved.  The young man represents the Smoke with class both on and off the field.

SMOKE WIN PERFECT GAME 18U BCS CHAMPIONSHIP

SMOKE FINISH IN 1ST IN THE 18 TEAM NORCAL TOURNEY

The Smoke knocked off the tournament host Norcal in the opener with Tyler Bremer pitching a complete game gem.  In the championship, Logan Scott pitched 6 solid innings holding the Blaze to one run. Jake Sylvester was the hitting hero with what turned out to be the game winning home run.  Kyle Holmstrom had an outstanding day at the plate with several important hits and top notch plays in the field. J.R. Graham put on a fielding clinic at shortstop.  Every player on the team contributed in what was a solid day for the Smoke. It was truly a team championship!  

 SEMI-FINALS:  SMOKE 5 NORCAL 2       CHAMPIONSHIP:   SMOKE 5  BLAZE 1

THE CALIFORNIA SMOKE BASEBALL PROGRAM PRESENTS: 

 NORCAL JUNIORS  vs  CALIFORNIA SMOKE 

FINAL SCORE:   CALIFORNIA SMOKE 13  NORCAL 8 

BASEBALL AT ITS BEST