California Warriors Alumni Spotlight – D1 Players!

The First Base Foundation has many student athletes playing baseball at the collegiate level this season. Here is an update on the ones playing D1 ball.

Collin Monsour (Fr) RHP, UC Berkeley: Collin has made an immediate impact for the Golden Bears as a Freshman. Monsour is 1-0 in three starts and five total appearances with a 3.94 ERA. In his first collegiate start, Collin went 5.1 innings, giving up only one run on five hits while striking out four.

Dylan Nelson (So) RHP, UC Berkeley: Coach David Esquer has used Dylan early and often in Dyan’s first season at Cal after transferring from College of San Mateo, and he has rewarded his coach for the confidence. Nelson has an 0-1 record with a 3.27 ERA in eight appearances, three of which have been starts. In the first game of the season, Nelson was the first pitcher called out of the bullpen. After inheriting a two run deficit in the fourth inning, he shut the Michigan Wolverines down for 3.2 innings, giving up only two hits and striking out three. In his first three appearances for the Golden Bears, Dylan only gave up one run.

Devin Pearson (Fr) OF, UC Berkeley: After starting the season coming off the bench mostly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement, Devin broke into the starting line-up during at the Houston College Classic and he hasn’t looked back since. Cal is 10-5 since Pearson has taken over as the starting Center Fielder. Devin’s .328 batting average is 3rd best while his .414 on base percentage is 2nd best on the team. The speedy centerfielder has been a great table setter since taking over as the leadoff hitter, scoring eleven runs while having seven multi hit games.

Matt Lopez (Jr) IF/OF, San Jose State University: In what has been a difficult season so far for the Spartans (7-18), Lopez has had a solid year. He has started 15 of the teams 25 games, batting .281 with a nearly .700 OPS. In the Spartans’ most recent win against Dallas Baptist, Matt went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.

D.J. Slaton (Jr) RHP, San Jose State University: All six of Slaton’s appearances this season have been starts, and he has posted a 1-4 record with a 4.00 ERA. He is third on the team in ERA, tied for first in innings pitched, third in strikeouts, and second in fewest hits allowed. In D.J.’s last start, he pitched 5 innings, giving up one run on two hits, notching his first win of the season as SJSU beat Dallas Baptist 8-1.

Jamal Clarke (Fr) OF, St. John’s University: The California Warriors 2012 “Offensive Player of the Year” has played in 12 games and starting 4 for the Red Storm. Clarke has faired very well as a pinch hitter and as a defensive replacement for Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer. Jamal is batting .273 in 22 at bats with a .651 OPS.

Dylan Wheeler (Sr) IF, United States Naval Academy: The Novato native and former Marin Catholic standout has started 140 games in his career with the Midshipmen. Wheeler is batting .375 in ten games with three RBI as a utility middle infielder. The Senior will be headed to Pensacola, Florida in July to attend Navy Flight School following his graduation.

Jordan Lazor (Fr) RHP, UC Davis: The Branson graduate has only pitched in one game so far this season for a total of two innings and giving up one run. The beginning of his season was slowed by injury, but he is now back to full health and is ready to get started on his promising college career.

Justin Maffei (Sr) OF, University of SF: Maffei (leadoff) and fellow Warriors Alum Jason Mahood(#2) have been extremely productive at the top of the lineup for the Dons this season. In a recent series win against Portland, Maffei and Mahood went a combined 14-for-24 with four RBI and three runs scored. For the season, the outfielder is batting .316 with 12 RBI, while being in the top five in nearly every category. He leads the team in hits (31), stolen bases (7), and total bases (42).

Jason Mahood (Sr) IF, University of SF: Mahood currently has a seven game hit streak in which he has gone 13-for-28 with six runs, nine RBI, and five doubles. The Senior second baseman is hitting .247 on the season, starting all 24 of the Diamond Dons’ games. Like Justin Maffei, Jason is in the top 5 in nearly every major category for USF.

Jesse Delong (Jr) RHP, University of SF: So far this season for the Dons Jesse has been used sparingly by coach Giarratano, having pitched only 2.2 innings in five total appearances.