A number of former Douglas High baseball players have caught on with summer baseball teams in the area.
Outfielder/pitcher D.J. Brady, catcher Roman Davis and Jon Sliva are all with the Carson City-based Nevada Bighorns this summer, as is former Douglas and Whittell standout Jeff Young.
The Bighorns, which were the Valley-based Nevada Yankees up until three years ago, will play the bulk of their games at Western Nevada College this summer. This weekend they will take on College of Marin in doubleheaders on Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m.).
"Our whole purpose is to give local kids coming home from college a chance to keep playing during the summer," head coach Dennis Young said. "We play a competitive schedule and the field at Western Nevada is just a great place to play and watch a game."
Sierra League Player of the Year Jordan Hadlock will join former teammates Cory Eilers and Niko Saladis, who were both at Feather River College this last season, on the Reno-based Sierra Sundevils this summer.
The Sundevils, who play their home games at Wooster High School, have home games today (5 p.m.), Saturday (11 a.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.).
The Bighorns feature a number of players from Carson and Reno and even a player from as far away as Michigan. University of Nevada standouts Tyson Jaquez, Chris Garcia, Stephen Bautista and Aaron Henry are on the 28-man roster as well.
"Most of the kids coming back from Lassen and Feather River played at schools around here anyway, so they just stay at home for the summer," Young said. "We do have situations where someone will stay with a family here, we'll just pair them with players that they get along with."
The Bighorns, who use wood bats, will be making the jump to an organized Northern California league next season.
"We're playing primarily close to home this year," Young said. "We're trying to raise some money and build a fan base to be ready for next year. We're taking a trip to play the Humboldt Crabs one weekend. They're a 64-year club and they're going to pay for our hotels while we're there. We're trying to raise money for a trip to Chico this summer too. Then there are umpire and baseball fees."
Admission to this summer's games is on a donation basis.
"We're asking $3 for adults," Young said.
The team will be hosing a golf tournament fundraiser on June 15 at Dayton Valley Golf Course. Cost is $125.
They will also be having tryouts for an 18-under and a 14-under fall baseball team later this summer.
Anyone interested in volunteering, sponsoring or donating to the team, or registering for the golf tournament, can contact Young at 721-3024.
For more information on either team, visit their respective Web sites at www.nevadabighornbaseball.com or www.sierrasundevils.com.
