Molly Hannis, who was a standout swimmer at Santa Rosa High, is now a college sophomore swimming for the University of Tennessee. (Photo by University of Tennessee Athletic Department)

A breakout college campaign has Molly Hannis aiming for the world swim championships.

Another super season for Maya DiRado puts her in position for this year’s biggest international competition.

Two of the Empire’s great prep swimmers look for peak performances in the U.S. trials at Indianapolis later in June. Qualify and they earn spots in Barcelona.

“I’ve had such a really good year. I’m shooting for my best times,” said Hannis, from Santa Rosa High.

Having competed in several international competitions, DiRado wants to add the world championships to her resume.

“It would be really awesome. I need to stay happy and relaxed to swim my best,” said DiRado, from Maria Carrillo.

Following successful NCAA seasons, Hannis and DiRado are swimming long-course meets to prepare for the trials. The NCAA All-Americans are confident going into the U.S. meet.

Following a strong sophomore season with the University of Tennessee team, Hannis is spending another summer in Knoxville to prepare for the trials.

“I’ve found a more efficient way to swim,” she said. “I tweaked little things in my stroke. It’s easier for me to swim faster.”

Fast, indeed, as Hannis swam to four All-American honors. Highlights included winning the NCAA consolation finals in the 100 breaststroke, a fifth place in the 200 breast consolation finals, and swimming on two Tennessee relay winners. The Volunteers’ 200 medley relay time was just off the American record.

“That’s the ultimate goal, to win a national championship,” Hannis said.

The one disappointment came in the 100 breast, reminding Hannis how the NCAA meet challenges athletes. While seeded second, she missed qualifying for the finals by one spot. Then she followed with the meet’s third fastest time in the consolation finals.

“I just had a bad morning in qualifying. That’s definitely motivation for next year,” Hannis said.

At the Southeastern Conference finals, Hannis took second in the 100 breast, first in the 200 medley relay and third in the 400 medley relay.

“I did make some nice strides. The coaching really helped me,” Hannis said.

Contributing in a huge way to Tennessee’s women placing third at the NCAA championships, Hannis wants to make a great year even better.

“It’s been amazing,” she said. “I’m really excited. I definitely have a shot.”

Former Maria Carrillo swimming star Maya DiRado is now a junior at Stanford. (Photo by Associated Press, 2011)

Also among the best in the NCAAs is DiRado. Relaxed and reeling in great times going into the national trials, she wants to reach another international meet.

“Training’s been going really well,” DiRado said. “I just feel a lot stronger in the water.”

All-American in six NCAA events this season, DiRado again is one of the nation’s best in multiple events. Highlights at the NCAA championships included second in the 400 individual medley, third in the 400 IM and a pair of fourth places, in the 400 medley relay and 800 free relay.

At the Pac-12 Conference finals, DiRado claimed a title in the 400 IM and 800 free relay, with a second in the 200 back.

Yet she still has not peaked. DiRado is a veteran of international competition and wants more.

At the 2011 World University Games, in China, she won the 400 individual medley. Three times DiRado has competed with the U.S. national junior team in the world finals, including at Barcelona in 2010. She wants to get back to Spain.

“It would be pretty awesome,” DiRado said. “I feel like I’ve put myself in the best position possible.”

International meets put a premium on distance training, preparing swimmers for longer pools. Pace and strong legs are the goals.

“I’ve got the endurance. It’s nice to get in the rhythm of the meet,” DiRado said.

So good is this pair that they competed at the U.S. Olympic trials last summer.

Hannis plans to swim two more seasons and aim for the next Olympics. She sat out freshman year as a redshirt to prepare for major college swimming. On track to graduate in 2015, she would go into graduate studies to remain eligible and train for the 2016 Summer Olympic games.

Scheduled to graduate next spring, DiRado has not decided whether to train for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The next meet matters most.

“It would be nice to get back to Barcelona,” DiRado said.

You can reach Staff Writer Michael Coit at 521-5470 or mike.coit@pressdemocrat.com.

Allie Davis, who prepped at Windsor, competed at the NCAA swimming championships this season as a freshman at Purdue University. (Photo by Purdue University Athletics Department)

Swimming as a true freshman, Allie Davis made the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships with the Purdue University swim team.

The former Empire great was strong enough her first year out of Windsor High to be a top starter for Purdue. Davis was seventh in scoring for the Boilermakers at the Big Ten Conference finals and swam on the 800-yard freestyle relay team that competed in the NCAA championships.

“The year went really well,” Davis said. “It was definitely hard. The atmosphere was intense and it brings out the best in you.”

Dropping times in all events, Davis put in more pool time and took to the college-level conditioning and weight training.

“It was definitely a big change. But we get through it together,” Davis said. “The team is really big on the whole family thing. We’re so team oriented.”

At the Big Ten finals, Davis swam three freestyle events — the 1650, 500 and 200 — with the best finish a third in the 200 free consolation final. Her time in the 500 free consolation final was third best ever at Purdue.

Davis, 18, also was on the 800 free relay team that finished third in the Big Ten consolation finals with the third best time in program history. That team reached the NCAA championships.

“Being at the NCAAs was pretty big and definitely awesome,” Davis said.

Next season Davis aims to reach the NCAA meet as an individual as well as on relays. Her best shots are the 500 free and 1650 free with even better training.

“It’s not just going to happen,” she said. “You have to make it happen.”

Next for Davis will be the U.S. Open, in Irvine, which begins July 30.

YAMAUCHI SWIMMER OF YEAR

Empire standout Sophia Yamauchi was named swimmer of the year in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation this collegiate season.

The junior at UC Santa Barbara won two events — 200 individual medley and 200 breaststroke — and swam on two winning relays, the 200 and 400 medley events.

Her impressive conference championship meet capped another standout season for the former Montgomery High swimmer.

A Mid-Major All-American, the Gauchos standout enjoyed a breakout season as a sophomore. With hard work in the pool and weight room, Yamauchi continued to lower times and qualified for the Olympic Trials last summer.

Stephen Tomasin played outside center for the San Diego State rugby team as a freshman.
Credit: Bryan Cox / San Diego State

By BOB PADECKY
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Stephen Tomasin began May 31 like most Fridays he thought he would experience this summer. Tomasin, a former Cardinal Newman football star, had just finished his freshman year at San Diego State, where he played rugby for the Aztecs and earned a 2.8 GPA in school.

It was to be a good Friday, a nice, low-stress Friday, the kind of day college kids have in the summer when the anvil of class is not resting on their shoulders.

“I had no idea it was coming,” said Tomasin about the events to follow.

When Tomasin arrived back at his San Diego house that night there was a message on his landline waiting for him.

“Stephen, the USA All-American team manager called and left me a message,” said his mom, Shelly. “I don’t know much about it except it has something to do with rugby and he wants you to call him.”

Tuesday night, 11 days later, Tomasin took off from San Francisco International Airport for a 14-hour flight to New Zealand. After undergoing and passing a rigorous three-day selection process, Tomasin is a member of the USA Rugby Men’s Collegiate All-Americans. Tomasin and 27 others are representing the United States in a three-match tour against universities in New Zealand, the first match being today against Massey University in Palmerston North.

The past two weeks for Tomasin have moved faster than pizza at a kindergarten class. He is still trying to get his mind around it.
“It’s crazy,” said the North Bay League’s football most valuable player in 2011. “It’s been a roller coaster. I’m very lucky.”

Tomasin is the only freshman on the team.

He began playing rugby in February 2012.

Seventeen months later Tomasin is playing rugby internationally for America.

So, OK, there might be a little luck involved. More to the point, Tomasin’s quick ascent in collegiate rugby has more to do with skill than luck.

“People always told me I would be a better rugby player than a football player,” Tomasin said.

That would be due to a variety of factors. First, there’s his solid structure — 5-foot-10, 205 pounds and no baby fat. His ability to run low and hard and with speed — around 4.6 seconds over 40 yards — made him tough to stop on the football field, and it’s a skill that translates well to rugby. And then there’s his intensity. Tomasin take plays off? Shoot, he doesn’t take seconds off.

Tomasin’s coaches at San Diego State, Matt Hawkins and Rueben Stilkin, kept pressing USA’s head rugby coach Matt Sherman to invite Tomasin to USA Rugby’s invitation-only selection camp on June 7 at Occidental College in Los Angeles. Sherman resisted. Tomasin, after all, was a freshman, a pup at 18, and he would be competing against the best college rugby dudes in America or, as USA Rugby said in a press release, “the top 1 percent of players.”

According to the website RugbyMag.com, the San Diego State coaches “nagged” Sherman enough that he relented. According to RugbyMag.com, Tomasin surprised everyone during the three days of tryouts. There were two workouts each day, nine hours daily of workouts, interviews and tests.

His ability to communicate, to move with and without the ball, to fire hot each and every play, Tomasin won the coaches over. The kid could play. Monday at 9 a.m. the coaches called all 53 players together and announced the 28 who would travel. It’s not just a honor for Tomasin to be selected, it’s startling in what it reveals about his ability. He was competing against college guys who have been playing rugby for seven or eight years, before high school even.

“It’s still a shock to me,” Tomasin said.

Especially considering that as recently as two years ago, rugby was not his sport of choice in college. He wanted to play football. He had posted headline-making numbers when he was at Newman — like that six-touchdown game against Bishop O’Dowd in a 2011 North Coast Section playoff game — that it was unimaginable Tomasin would be soon giving up the game he had played and loved since he was a Newman freshman.

So come on down to the field, the San Diego State football coaches told Tomasin, and we’ll take a look at you.

“I didn’t look the part of a college running back,” said Tomasin, who is an outside center in rugby.

Tomasin could feel the disapproving eyes. He decided he wouldn’t pursue being a walk-on, which in most cases is a tackling dummy at Division I schools, if that walk-on gets lucky. Tomasin had been playing rugby for a year at the Santa Rosa Rugby Club and had been growing fond of the sport.

“Everything happens for a reason,” Tomasin said, “and now I want to thank the people who didn’t think I could play college football. I think rugby is the ultimate team sport because we all always are so close together when we are on the field, and there’s no room for ego or arrogance, either.”

USA Rugby’s collegiate team is a feeder to USA Rugby’s National team. With the possibility he could travel the world playing rugby, representing the United States, Tomasin is aware that this could be just the beginning of his athletic career — even after the success he had at Newman.

“Once I represented a city when I played for Newman,” Tomasin said. “Then last year I represented a university. Now I’m representing America. … This is all still a shock to me.”

On his cell phone, Tomasin took a moment to regroup. As if one day he’ll wake up and this will all be a dream, and of course it won’t. He’s no longer what we knew him as, a football player. Tomasin is an elite collegiate rugby player and every day he’s in San Diego, and not in New Zealand, he is reminded of this.

Tomasin stays in a five-bedroom house with other San Diego State rugby players. The house is called “The Hurt Locker,” after the 2008 Academy Award-winning movie about a bomb disposal unit in Iraq.

The Hurt Locker is a place, like his mother said, where the players can go to compare their bruises.

You can reach Staff Columnist Bob Padecky at 521-5223 or bob.padecky@pressdemocrat.com.

Casa Grande’s Eric Parnow pitches against Campolindo during the NCS Championship game on June 1.
Credit: Crista Jeremiason / The Press Democrat

Empire baseball and softball is well represented in the final statewide polls.

Leading the pack is Casa Grande, with a No. 16 ranking in the Cal-Hi Sports State Baseball poll and Petaluma at No. 34 in softball.

Making statewide division level rankings are Analy, honorable mention for Division 3 baseball, and St. Vincent, rising to seventh in the Division 5 softball poll from Cal-Hi Sports.

“It’s a good showing for us. We can play some baseball up here,” said Casa Grande coach Paul Maytorena.

One of Petaluma finest softball seasons was highlighted by big wins against some of the North Coast Section’s top teams.

“When you’re ranked among the best in the state, that’s a great season,” Petaluma coach Kurt Jastrow said.

To be measured against the best, Empire teams must play the North Coast Section’s top squads. There are no California Interscholastic Federation state baseball or softball championship playoffs.

Gaining favorable seeds — along with improving Empire league schedule strength to help qualify teams for the playoffs — means matching up with perennial powers out of the East Bay in nonleague play.

Five of the six NCS baseball titles went to East Bay schools this season along with four of the six softball champions.

“You prepare. That’s why we like to play the East Bay,” Maytorena said. “With these showings we can make a case for our league.”

Both the Casa Grande baseball and the Petaluma softball teams earned top seeds in the section playoffs. The Gauchos and Trojans took league titles coming off strong nonleague play featuring a large dose of East Bay squads.

“We knew we had the talent, but we didn’t know how good we were,” Jastrow said. “You’ve got to show those people that you can play. Sooner or later you’re going to have to face them in the playoffs.”

Highlights for state ranked teams out of the Empire:

— Casa Grande (27-3): After falling in the season opener, Casa Grande won 21 games in a row including a victory over three time defending NCS Division 2 champion Campolindo. The teams met again, this time for the section title, with Campolindo winning behind a fourth consecutive playoff shutout for the state’s mythical top spot. Casa Grande finished third statewide in Division 2.

— Analy (23-6): Analy’s first section playoff appearance since 2009 was a memorable return. Following a dominant run to the Sonoma County League title, Analy took a pair of one-run games in three wins to reach the NCS Division 3 championship. One was an 11-inning victory over second seed Sir Francis Drake. Analy, the third seed, fell by a run to Acalanes, which won a third consecutive section crown.

— Petaluma (26-2): The Empire’s longest winning streak this season belonged to Petaluma’s stellar softball squad. After falling in the season opener, Petaluma ran off 26 consecutive victories to rise up the state rankings. Standing in the way of the NCS Division 2 title was Concord. The same team that defeated Petaluma in the 2012 championship contest ended the Trojans run with a 1-0 semifinal win.

— St. Vincent (17-8): Following a tough nonleague schedule featuring all the Empire large school teams St. Vincent could schedule, the Mustangs marched through the NCS Division 5 playoffs. St. Vincent posted an impressive 32-7 advantage in runs scored in three decisive playoff wins to capture a second consecutive section championship.

Harkin was primarily a shortstop at Sonoma State, but was signed by the Brewers as a pitcher. He made eight appearances in relief for the Seawolves this season, and was 2-0 with a save and a 2.25 earned run average in eight innings of work.

He is the second Seawolves player to sign with the Brewers, joining Kevin Wong, who signed as a free agent in 1991. Harkin is the 85th SSU baseball player to sign a professional contract since 1986.

— The Press Democrat

The depth on Santa Rosa Junior College’s state finals golf team was evident with the six starters making all-conference.

Santa Rosa’s three low scorers on the season were the team’s top trio in the Big 8 All-Conference selections:

Travis Evans, Eureka; Corey Ghiringhelli, Casa Grande high; and Zachary Sims, Napa.

Also making all-conference were Nicolas Daniels, Windsor; Matt Etchell, Healdsburg, and Steven Staples, from Vacaville. Santa Rosa filled six of the team’s ten spots.

Santa Rosa’s strength was that the Bear Cubs starting six each challenged for team low scoring honors on the season.

A strong finish carried Santa Rosa into a third consecutive California Community College Athletic Association finals, where the Bears Cubs finished third in Carmel. Santa Rosa qualified out of the challenging Big 8 Conference and moved on with a second place in the NorCal finals.

Organizers of a Santa Rosa youth baseball tournament featuring Aussie teams are seeking host families for the players from down under.

A pair of teams from Perth, Australia will play against several Sonoma County teams June 20-23 in the Noah Lowry International Invitational put on by Goodwill Series, Inc., based in Santa Rosa. The teams are 16 and under and 18 and under.

Host families would put up players in their homes June 19-23. Contact Bob Williams 538-0777 or rwilliams@goodwillseries.org.

The Goodwill Series is in its 30th year. Led by Williams, the organization hosts annual summer tournaments featuring Australian teams playing against Sonoma County squads. In December — the Australian summer — teams with players from California and across the U.S. travel to Australia for two weeks of baseball.

Capping a strong Sonoma State baseball campaign, four Seawolves earned postseason honors. Leading the list were pitchers Harmen Sidhu and Glenn Wallace, one of the nation’s toughest one-two punches on the mound.

Sidhu was named to the All-America, All-West Region and All-Conference first teams by the American Baseball Coaches Association and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. In going 10-1, the senior right-hander from Martinez posted a school and California Collegiate Athletic Association record earned run average of 0.98 to lead the nation. Sidhu struck out 93 batters in 82 plus innings and allowed just 47 hits.

The other half of the talented tandem, Wallace, was named first-team All-America and Pitcher of the Year for both the West Region and the CCAA. Wallace went 9-2 with a 1.19 earned run average, fifth best in the nation. The senior from Reno struck out 71 batters and walked only 12 in 98 innings, setting a school mark with just over a walk per nine innings of work.

Both pitchers finish atop the Sonoma State record books. Sidhu set the all-time career mark for both earned run average and opponent batting average with Wallace second in both categories.

Two position players made All-Conference teams.

Following a breakout season, junior outfielder Garrett Schwartz earned Second-Team CCAA honors with a team high 14 doubles and five home runs. Schwartz, from Salinas, batted .325 with 24 runs batted in and 23 runs scored.

Sonoma Valley High School’s Steven Filippi made Honorable Mention CCAA for a second time. A former All-Empire standout, Filippi batted .313 and led the Seawolves with 29 runs scored and 13 stolen bases. Filippi’s on base percentage of .434 was fifth in the conference. In his four years at Sonoma State the outfielder played 182 games, second most in Seawolves history.

Sonoma State made another deep playoff run, going 36-22 on the season and finishing third in the NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament.

So good was Santa Rosa Junior College’s baseball team nearly the entire starting lineup earned postseason honors.

Pitcher Jason Alexander was a Northern California All-American selection in addition to making All-Big 8 Conference first team. The All-Empire right-hander from Cardinal Newman was second in the conference with eight wins and fifth with a 1.69 earned run average.

Also making the All-Big 8 Conference first team were: Pitchers Tyler Sanders, Rancho Cotate, second in the Big 8 with six saves; Brian Bynum, Loomis, second on the team for innings pitched; outfielder Ryan Xepoleas, Loomis, team leader in hits; and infielder Brent Gillespie, Rancho Cotate, fourth in the conference with 33 runs batted in and tied for third with 3 home runs.

Second-team All-Big 8 Conference honors went to: first baseman Anthony Sequeria, Petaluma, team leader for runs batted in and doubles; infielder Nico Filice, Cardinal Newman, second on the team for batting average; and outfielder Siosi Poti, Rancho Cotate, third in the conference with 14 stolen bases.

Earning the Bear Cubs’ distinction in the classroom was Brandon Baranzini. The former All-Empire player from Montgomery was an All-State Academic Team selection.

SRJC head coach Damon Neidlinger shared Big 8 coach of the year honors and was named the top skipper in Northern California.

Santa Rosa was the top-ranked team in Northern California and reached the state final four.

Hard to say injuring a thumb helps in a game demanding great hands, yet Mitch Rowan reached college baseball’s pinnacle following such a seemingly bad break.

Missing much of a season to injury at Willamette University, the former Rancho Cotate great gained another year in the game following graduation. Rowan played on scholarship for this season’s University of San Francisco team that reached the NCAA Division I tournament.

The Dons were edged out in the Oregon regional where Rowan was among the standout hitters.

“It was definitely cool,” Rowan said. “That’s the goal of every college program, to get in that tournament. We’re proud of what we accomplished.”

In three games, all on national television, the designated hitter and outfielder had four hits in nine plate appearances. Rowan rapped a pair of doubles, scored and knocked in a run — not bad for the big stage.

“He was by far our best offensive player at the end of the year,” said USF head coach Nino Giarratano. “It’s not easy to be successful and jump in and to be part of what we had. Mitch earned great respect of all the players.”

That the All-Empire selection played major college baseball was the end result of Rowan’s commitment to making the most of his years out of Rancho Cotate High School.

Not heavily recruited, Rowan chose Willamette for the opportunity to play both baseball and football at the NCAA Division III level. Rowan was an All-Empire kicker-punter at Rancho Cotate.

Willamette, a small private school in Salem, the Oregon state capital, also proved a good fit academically. Rowan earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science.

“The opportunity was very special,” Rowan said. “I just felt like I got a very unique college experience.”

Before staking a spot in the Willamette baseball record books Rowan played on one of the best football teams in school history. The high scoring Bearcats reached the second round of the NCAA Division III nationalplayoffs.

After a similarly strong freshman baseball season, Rowan broke out, hitting .403 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs as a sophomore. Rowan was First Team All-Region.

Then in the sixth game of the 2011 season Rowan broke his left thumb diving for a ball in the outfield. While the season was lost to a medical hardship, Rowan would recover from surgery and come back with confidence.

“My mental game was stronger. I learned to make more adjustments to improve to become a lot better baseball player,” he said.

Following a solid senior season Rowan made All-Northwest Conference a second time. Rowan finished his career in Willamette’s top 10 across four categories including fourth in all-time batting average (.356) and third in home runs (27).

With another season of college baseball available Rowan received a scholarship offer from USF on the recommendation of his coach for two seasons in a top collegiate summer league. Rowan played for the Willmar Stingers, in Minnesota, of the Northwoods League.

Rare is the junior college player invited to play for USF let alone a one-year player.

“We were just really fortunate. He made the transition to Division I baseball in a year,” Giarratano said.

Another injury would test Rowan. A broken bone in his right hand in October limited Rowan’s chances to gain playing time as he wasn’t at full strength until January.

Making the most of opportunities, particularly late in the season, Rowan was a frequent starter.

“The quality of his at-bats allowed him to continue to get more playing time. He had a great idea of the strike zone,” Giarratano said.

Rowan was among the Dons’ top base runners. He finished tied for first in triples, tied for third in base on balls, and tied for fourth in stolen bases.

“I definitely was not content with just making it here,” Rowan said. “I finished off strong.”

So did the Dons, who made the NCAA field after finishing second in the West Coast Conference regular season and tournament.

“Mitch was very important. He really started to do his thing,” Giarratano said. “Mitch hit it here on every level.”

While his college playing days are over, Rowan wants to stay in the game. With another year to complete a master’s degree in organizational leadership, Rowan hopes to catch on with a team this summer in one of the nation’s handful of top independent leagues.

“I’m hoping something works out,” Rowan said. “Being a Division I baseball player, you’re playing against future professional players pretty regularly. Succeeding against some of those guys gives you confidence to play at the next level.”

The Oakland A’s on Saturday selected Casa Grande High School’s Francis Christy in the 37th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.

Christy was the catcher on a Casa Grande team that reached the North Coast Section championship game. He was the 1,121st player chosen in the three-day draft.

Also Saturday, Sonoma State University pitcher Harmen Sidhu was selected in the 20th round by the Tampa Bay Rays.

A breakthrough season for Ben Graff helped USF to a memorable campaign.

In his third season with USF, the All-Empire pitcher out of Sonoma Valley doubled his innings and posted the Dons’ lowest earned run average as a clutch reliever for the NCAA tournament team.

“I just tried to focus on getting a little bit better each day,” Graff said. “I was able to better handle high pressure situations. Staying confident was a definite improvement.”

The big left-hander from the start bought into the team’s approach of improving at the NCAA Division I level. The University of San Francisco program focuses on bringing in freshmen and grooming them for bigger roles in seasons to come.

“Ben’s always worked at it. He’s always had the best attitude,” said USF head coach Nino Giarratano. “We needed him to make that leap. He was the guy that gave us quality appearances all year long.”

Pitching in 24 games — third on the Dons — he recorded nearly a strikeout per inning. Batters hit only .143 against Graff, second best on the team. Graff’s earned run average of 1.44 led the Dons, the second-best staff in the West Coast Conference.

Losing weight and gaining strength gave Graff a good foundation for his successful junior campaign.

“I was able to build on that,” he said. “I gained the coaches’ trust as the season went on.”

Highlights on the season included helping the Dons finish second in the WCC regular season and tournament and getting big outs in the Oregon regional of the NCAA tournament.

“He consistently improved. And, boy, you could really see it in his game,” Giarratano said.

Pitching at the highest level of college baseball isn’t new to Graff. As a freshman he was on the USF squad that played in the UCLA regional.

“They’ve been building kind of a new tradition. It’s definitely cool,” he said. “Our goal is to get back there and go beyond.”

Work for next season begins this week. Graff is back in Green Bay, Wis., to play a second season of collegiate summer ball with the Bullfrogs in the Northwoods League.

Playing daily for two months provides valuable experience. The pace is similar to minor league baseball.

“It gives you experience against good college hitters,” Graff said. “I get a lot of work in and that trust in myself.”

The summer league also has players on a weight training and conditioning program. Pitchers go through throwing regimens.

Graff aims to get stronger and set up an opportunity to move into a starting role next season. He knows the USF coaches will put him in position to succeed and help the team.

“I’d really like to see him start and he’s going to get every opportunity to do that,” Giarratano said.

Leading as a senior is another goal for Graff.

“I’m just trying to do whatever I can with leadership, showing the young guys how we work here,” Graff said.

Also a good student, Graff contributed to the team’s 3.3 grade point average. Graff is a media studies major and is on track to graduate next year.

“This opportunity has been very special,” he said.

SSU pitcher Harmen Sidhu won the Martinez award for being the top Div. II player this season. (Photo: Courtesy of Sonoma State University)

ROHNERT PARK

Sonoma State University pitcher Harmen Sidhu was ridiculously sensational this past season.

How sensational? This sensational: A coach would need to know only eight words of English to say to Sidhu during the 13 games he worked.

“Slow down your arm motion on your curveball.”

That’s it. Just eight words, although SSU coach John Goelz would have to say them in two different games, which still did not increase the risk of laryngitis. For as effective and trouble-free as Sidhu pitched, Goelz might as well have said, “Fried eggs and ham I am!” to Sidhu during a game and the results probably would have been the same.

Sidhu has been awarded the 2013 Tino Martinez Award given annually to the most outstanding player in NCAA Division II baseball as determined by the site CollegeBaseballLineup.com.

The award was named after Martinez, acknowledged as the best Division II player in NCAA history when he played for the University of Tampa. Martinez was a 1998 USA Olympian who played 16 seasons — for the Yankees, Mariners, Cardinals and Devil Rays — hitting 339 home runs, driving in 1,271 runs, making two All-Star teams and playing in four World Series.

“I didn’t even answer the phone when it rang,” Sidhu said of the call.

It was 8:30 in the morning and Sidhu is a college kid and college kids don’t rush into mornings any more than they rush to class at 8 a.m. Might as well, Sidhu thought later, listen to the message.

“Hi, Harmen. This is Tino Martinez. Give me a call.”

Sidhu, 22, bolted upright in bed as if he just sat on an electric cattle prod.

“It (the call) was my coffee,” Sidhu said.

Sidhu was one of 10 finalists for the award and is the first pitcher in the award’s four-year history to receive it. His resume was stacked in his favor.

He was 10-1 with a 0.98 ERA. He allowed just 47 hits in 82» innings. He is the first starting pitcher in SSU history and the first DII starting pitcher in California history to post an ERA under 1.00. Typically, pitchers who post that low an ERA throw softballs, not baseballs.

“In the last 10 years,” Goelz said, “I’ve had 40 players sign pro contracts. Twenty-nine of them have been pitchers. No one had a year like Harmen has had. If I needed one pitcher to win a national championship, it would have to be Harmen. Who else could I pick?”

Goelz took a glance at his office and pointed at SSU team pictures.

“If Harmen had been on that team,” Goelz said, “we would have won the national championship. … if he had been on that team over there, we would have won the national championship … and on that team over there … and there.”

But Sidhu was on this 2013 team and if there was one statistic that might drive the applause needle even higher than that 0.98 ERA it was this one: Of the 323 batters he faced, Sidhu gave up a grand total of five extra-base hits: four doubles, one triple, no home runs.

“I can remember each extra-base hit and what I threw,” said Sidhu, who’s 6-foot, 175 pounds.

The UC San Diego guy hit a fastball down the middle of the plate and above the belt. The Cal Poly Pomona dude hit a 3-2 hanging slider. The Cal Baptist spoil-sport hit a slider down and away. The Cal State Los Angeles fella really was living the high life when he got not one but two extra-base hits off Sidhu, off a change-up down and away and a slider down the middle. That slider went for a triple.

The few, the proud, the guys standing on second base.

In other words, when you stepped up to the plate this year against Harmen Sidhu, you had a 1.54 percent chance of getting an extra-base hit off him. That’s about the same chance of seeing a banana slug juggle a beach ball while smoking a cigarette.

“It’s surreal to me,” said Goelz of the Sidhu numbers. It’s also a bit surreal that among the nine other guys he beat out for the award, three of them had names that seemed like typos: Kyle Petty, Matt Dillon and Harvey Martin. You had to do a double-take and remember this Petty wasn’t a NASCAR driver, this Dillon wasn’t an actor and this Martin wasn’t a four-time All-Pro in the NFL.

“Harmen never let me down,” Goelz said. Context: Every time Sidhu refused to leave the game when Goelz asked, he never fell apart. The year before the two would butt heads over that, but in 2013 Goelz knew he was seeing magic out there and didn’t want to muck it up. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And Sidhu had earned Goelz’s trust.

In his two years at SSU, the Martinez native posted a 17-2 record, a 1.56 ERA and allowed just one home run in 150 innings.

Sure, John Goelz is going to miss his perfectionist, probably because he’s never going to be able to say this again to any of his pitchers: “You’re really good. So I don’t care if you throw the ball away on a bunt.”

Why should Goelz worry? After all, it’s not like the guy is going to score or anything.

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You can reach Staff Columnist Bob Padecky at 521-5223 or bob.padecky@pressdemocrat.com.

James Forkum, Santa Rosa Junior College’s retiring Dean of Kinesiology, Athletics and Dance, was selected as a 2013 Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year.

The award recognizes administrative excellence and is given to National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics members who make significant contributions to their institutions and their communities.

Forkum, who is retiring this year to end a 44-year career in education and athletics, will be honored at the NACDA’s convention June 15 in Orlando.

NEW TEAM WILL PLAY PACIFICS

The Santa Rosa Rosebuds, an independent amateur baseball team seeking to become a professional team in a year, will play the semipro San Rafael Pacifics at 2 p.m. Saturday on the Maria Carrillo High School baseball field.

Admission is $6. All proceeds will go to the Maria Carrillo baseball team.

BIG MATCH FOR SOL ON TAP

The first-place Sonoma County Sol, with four games remaining on their National Premier Soccer League schedule, will meet the second-place Sacramento Gold, Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rancho Cotate High.

Mendocino College placed three players on the Bay Valley Conference postseason all-star teams.

Abby Komin, an outfielder from Beaverton, Ore., was a first-team selection.

Making the second team were Katy Smallcomb, an infielder from Ukiah High, and Jocelyn Hale, a utility player from Geyserville.

Mendocino went 10-30 overall, finishing sixth in the Bay Valley.