Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Gurdon Baseball Season Starts Feb. 22

Gurdon Coach John Pace will field one of the most experienced baseball teams he's ever had this season.

The Devils will field four seniors, and several juniors and sophomores who saw plenty of action in the 2000 season from a team that went to the regionals in the state playoffs, losing to Horatio.

This year's team, Pace said, should be competitive and could make it back to the playoffs again.

The 7AA conference, he said, isn't really a baseball conference, as most teams concentrate more on football and basketball than baseball.

Because of this Pace schedules the Devils against tougher teams early in the schedule to help them get ready for the league outings.

He said there will be one tournament in Gurdon, and there is the possibility the district tourney could be held at Cabe Field as well.

Gurdon has a 20-game schedule, opening Feb. 22, against Junction City, always a tough opponent.

The local tournament will be held the week of March 5, weather permitting, with the season concluding in April. Playoffs, Pace said, will start in May.

This year the Devils have more home games than away contests. This should prove helpful, especially when action starts in conference play.

The home games will start at 4 p.m. at Cabe Field. There will be some doubleheaders played, but most will be single games  depending on the other team involved.

Pace said this year's Devils should have solid pitching. A sophomore who pitched a lot last year returns with more experience as a junior.

However, all of Gurdon's pitching again this year will be done from the right side as there are no southpaws on the team.

The team has also been hitting the ball well in practice, and, Pace said, all of the seniors know what to do with the bat.

According to Pace, the conference title could come down to a battle between Gurdon and Stamps, as the Yellow Jackets are supposed to have a good team this year as well.