Mike Frantz El Camino-Sacramento – Baseball

The Eagles hurler pitched a two-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory over Antelope to win his fourth consecutive decision. El Camino has won six of its past seven games, including its last three league contests to climb back into the Capital League title picture. Frantz (4-2) has not allowed an earned run in his last four appearances (24 innings pitched) to lower his ERA to 2.07. In the victory over Antelope, Frantz helped himself with a solo home run to spark the offense.

The Eagles hurler pitched a two-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory over Antelope to win his fourth consecutive decision. El Camino has won six of its past seven games, including its last three league contests to climb back into the Capital League title picture. Frantz (4-2) has not allowed an earned run in his last four appearances (24 innings pitched) to lower his ERA to 2.07. In the victory over Antelope, Frantz helped himself with a solo home run to spark the offense.

SportStars Magazine: What has changed recently that has led to the success in your last four appearances?

Mike Frantz: I feel that I have been more focused on the mound since the beginning of the season. I am more confident in the defense behind me, so that I am comfortable throwing strikes and letting batters hit the ball. I don’t feel as if I have to get all of the outs myself.

SSM: In the victory over Antelope, you pitched a shutout and hit a home run. Was there anything special that contributed to your performance?

MF: On the mound, I felt confident in all of my pitches and was comfortable to let them hit the ball. Before the home run, Cooper Robinson (the 8-year-old son of El Camino Athletic Director Cici Robinson) wished me good luck before I went to the plate, and then I hit the home run. Later, we got the ball I hit and I signed it for Cooper and gave it to him for his help.

SSM: Has the confidence of the team increased with the recent success?

MF: I don’t really know what happened or exactly when it happened. We gained some confidence with some wins in our Easter tournament, and now we expect to win. We are starting to realize that we are a good team and we can win every game we play if we take it just one game at a time.

HONORABLE MENTION

Joie Camalo — The Rocklin senior goalkeeper recorded a 1-0 shutout of league rival Granite Bay to improve the Thunder’s overall record to 10-2-3. Camalo has posted 12 shutouts and allowed just four goals this season.

Louis Mejia —The Jesuit senior 2B played went 2-for-3 in the Marauders’ series victory over rival Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills and was also 3-for-4 over the team’s last two games at the Lions Tournament in SoCal.

Riley Williams — The Bella Vista-Fair Oaks senior was 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and four RBI in an 11-1 rout of Rio Linda. She leads the team with four home runs and has added 15 runs and 12 RBI.