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SPORTS
MONITOR APRIL 23, 2015
Ohlone wins 6-2, controls playoff destiny Pitching and small ball lead to win against De Anza
Leave Tebow alone
ALBERT REBOSURA Sports editor Ohlone got a much-needed outing Tuesday from starter Elias Bedolla to snap a twogame losing streak and put the Renegades in the driver’s seat to clinch the North Coast Conference today. “Elias Bedolla pitched well, he threw seven innings and gave us a great effort, and a great outing like he always does,” Head Coach Mark Curran said after the 6-2 win against De Anza. “He did a great job locating his pitches and getting first-pitch strikes.” Bedolla bounced back after losing his previous start against Monterey on April 6. He allowed two early runs but settled down and had a solid outing in a losing effort – Monterey’s Dylan Thorp had the Renegade batters’ number that day. Out of Bedolla’s 12 starts this season he has allowed two runs or fewer eight times. With the win over De Anza he has a 6-2 record with a 2.99 ERA. Ohlone did what they did best: play small ball. “Offensively, the guys did a good job grinding out at-bats and competing,” Curran said. He was pleased with the team’s sacrifice flies, bunts and steals – which translated to runs scored in four different innings. “We always stress being able to execute,” Curran said. “It’s part of playing good baseball. At this level you don’t have players hitting the three-run home run consistently, so you have to do those small things to put pressure on the defense, and our guys do a good job at that.” The Renegades had six successful steals on nine attempts. Brock Pradere had a team-high three steals – but left the game in the fifth inning after getting dinged up on his third steal. “We like to put pressure on the defense,” Curran said. “We’re fortunate enough to have a few guys with some speed. We really coach them up on how to be good base runners.” Josh Calmerin had another good outing, earning his third save of the season. Despite earning the save, Calmerin still serves as Curran’s “Swiss Army Knife” out of the bullpen – pitching long relief one game and then closing the next. He has made 19 appearances this season, pitching 46 innings with a team-low 1.37 ERA. “He’s just a gritty competitor,” Curran said about
IVAN VARGAS / MONITOR
Pitcher Elias Bedolla throws a pitch as third baseman Brandon Sewell prepares to field on Tuesday.
At this level you don’t have players hitting the three-run home run consistently, so you have to do those small things to put pressure on the defense, and our guys do a good job at that - Head Coach Mark Curran Calmerin. He doesn’t have overpowering stuff – most guys at this level do not. What separates him is that he has the ability to consistently throw strikes early in the count.” “He’s also able to locate his pitches really well. He’s a really tough kid; there isn’t really a situation that’s too big for him. He just gets on the mound and pounds the heck out of the zone. He’s a tough competitor and a great kid.” Ohlone plays their regular-
season finale at 2 p.m. today against Cañada College. Cañada is 17-16 and is coming off a loss against Monterey on Tuesday. The Renegades have had Cañada’s number this season, winning their previous two matchups 6-4 and 2-0. A win would clinch the
Coast Pacific division and home-field advantage for Ohlone – which is tied for first with Gavilan. The Renegades would fall to second place with a loss and a Gavilan win, but if both win, Ohlone owns the tiebreaker. CCCAA will announce playoff seeds on Sunday.
See standings, rankings and the Tweet of the Week on Page 7.
IVAN VARGAS / MONITOR
Brock Pradere is attended to for an injury. He was injured after a steal in the fifth inning.
There isn’t a more talked about football player in the NFL than Tim Tebow. Tebow signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and social media blew up. Twitter had mixed reactions – mostly calling Tebow a joke and saying he is a terrible football player. My Twitter was full of Tebow love. At first, I jokingly was a Tebow super fan from his days at Florida to annoy my friends, but as I paid closer attention to who he is as a person I became an actual fan. Everyone points out his terrible throwing technique, but his technique isn’t the real reason why he can’t stay in the league – it’s the media’s fault. His media over-exposure scares off teams that would take more chances on him. Tebow’s throwing technique is bad, but is he really not talented enough to be a servicable backup QB? Blaine Gabbert, Jimmy Clausen, Chad Henne? I can list more unrecognizable backups but I think you get my point. Tebow is better than all of them. Everyone steers clear of him because wherever he goes, the media follows. That’s crap – or what Monitor Editor-in-chief Mitchell Walther wrote in his last column: bullshit. He hasn’t done anything outside the football field to gather this much unnecessary media attention. His popularity is unique. The media tends to be attracted to controversial figures like Jameis Winston and Johnny Manziel, butTebow isn’t anything like them – except they’re all Heisman winners. Tebow is different. He’s not going to rehab, he isn’t stealing crab legs, he isn’t a criminal, he doesn’t have five kids with five different women. In a sport with players such as Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice and Aaron Hernandez – albeit the latter two now are out of the league – Tebow is a bona fide role model. The media needs to leave Britney – I mean Tebow – alone. I’m talking to you, Skip Bayless: shut up. Tebow’s a good enough backup, and a better role model than everyone not named J.J. Watt in the NFL.