High School Baseball Back At Islanders Field

High school baseball returns to Islanders Field this week with two games pitting teams with strong traditions and loyal fan bases.
Sierra of Manteca and Ripon will meet on Friday evening, and De La Salle, ranked No. 4 in the Bay Area News Group Top 15, and College Park will square off on Saturday.
Expect good turnouts for the JV and Varsity games at the picturesque ballpark backdropped by the San Joaquin River in the River Islands community.

Fans can sit on a grass hill behind the left field wall and soak it all in.

“This is our second or third time playing there, and each year it’s been that one game that every single player remembers,” Sierra coach Travis Thomson said. “This is a big-time experience because our kids get to play under the lights. This will be the nicest field they’ve ever played on. … It’s something they look back on as one of the most fun things they did in high school baseball.”

The privately-owned ballpark has a 500 seating capacity, with 390 feet to the wall in center and 330 feet down both foul lines. There’s lights, public restrooms, a scoreboard, batting cages, and a public address system.
“We run them like tournament games,” Islanders Field Site Director Don Johns said of the high-school matchups. “There’s announcers, they have The Star-Spangled Banner, all of that.”

De La Salle beat Tracy 13-2 in the first varsity game this season at Islanders Field, on March 27. Seniors Caleb Chance and Liam Little were both 2 for 2 with three runs scored and two RBI in the win.

De La Salle has a deep cast of players moving on to higher levels, topped by Tennessee-bound Blake Burke; Anthony Martinez (UC Irvine); sophomore Cal Randall (UCLA), Eli Gennis (USC), and Kason Pelz (University of Chicago). Three Spartans just committed to San Francisco State: Andrew Silva, Chance and Mickey Radanovich.

De La Salle coach David Jeans, whose team is filling an open date on College Park's schedule this weekend, always looks forward to playing at Islanders Field.

"We love it. It's a great park. It's a great venue, a great setting," Jeans said. "The kids get excited over it, the parents get excited over it. I know Don (Johns) helped design it, it turned out really well."

Thomson, who played at Delta College, is in his seventh year coaching at Sierra, and the third season heading the varsity. He replaced his dad, Jack, after the Timberwolves’ legend retired in 2018. Jack Thomson notched 607 career wins, the most in the southern Sac-Joaquin Section, as the only other varsity baseball coach in Sierra’s 25-year history.
“It’s been some tough shoes to fill, I hope I’m doing all right,” Travis Thomson said. “He’s a big-time name. He’s in multiple hall of fames; 40 different years coaching. … At Sierra, we’ve only had a Thomson.”
Adding to Sierra’s experience last season, the Timberwolves took a thrilling 7-6 win over Ripon on a walk-off single by Austin Frisk.

Thomson expects a stern challenge from Ripon, which entered this week winless in league play, in the River Islands rematch.

“They’ve been in close games against good teams,” Thomson said of Ripon, “so I know the opposing team is coming in really hungry for a win, and I know they’re talented, so it will be a fight to get a ‘W’ against these guys.”
… De La Salle has a strong connection with Johns, who is good friends with Jeans.
Several Spartans have played for Johns’ powerhouse 18-U Danville Hoots baseball club teams, including former De La Salle stars Kyle Harrison, selected by the San Francisco Giants as the No. 85 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, and Nick Cirelli, now a first baseman at St. John’s.
Cirelli was named Bay Area Player of the Year in 2018 by the Mercury News after leading the Spartans to their third consecutive North Coast Section Division I championship.
“The De La Salle-Hoots baseball relationship goes back a real long time,” Johns said. “De La Salle seniors have been playing for me for a long time, so it’s pretty cool. We’ve had that relationship with De La Salle and a lot of the high schools with the seniors because there aren’t a lot of 18-U teams.”
The Spartans are off to another good start this season. They split games last week with a 5-2 win over Dublin and 7-6 loss to St. Mary’s-Stockton. Will Pappas and Johnny Burns combined for eight strikeouts and no earned runs allowed against Dublin.

… College Park head coach Andy Tarpley, a San Ramon Valley graduate, also coached with Johns on a 2001 World Series American Legion Hoots team that boasted Nate Schierholtz, who went on to play right field for the Giants during his MLB career. That Hoots team won the California State American Legion championship, among other accolades.
… Friday’s Sierra-Ripon JV game is set for 3:30 p.m., followed by the varsity at 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s varsity game should start about 5 p.m.
Teams are not charged to use the facility, as part of River Islands community outreach. Spectators are asked to make a $5 donation for admission.
… High school play will return to Islanders Field on May 14, when Ripon faces Mountain House. There is also the High School Covid Classic, or year-end tourney, beginning on June 2 at the site.