Neighbor News
Diablo Valley College sports: Around the Horn
The red-hot Diablo Valley College men's and women's basketball teams have are home for Big 8 play. Baseball opens with two wins.
DVC WOMEN ROLL WITH FORD
Deja Johnson Ford came off the bench to score 23 points as the Diablo Valley women’s basketball team earned a clutch 85-77 win at rival San Joaquin Delta on Friday night.
Ford was a deft 7 for 12 from the floor with five 3-pointers, also pulling down nine rebounds.
The Vikings led the whole way, fending off a late Delta surge when it cut the deficit to four with 1:41 left.
DVC's Sami Oliver finished with 19 points and four 3-pointers, and Big 8 MVP candidate Safiyyah Yasin returned from injury to score 17 points with seven rebounds and seven assists.
Doris Jones added 16 points and seven rebounds as DVC improved to 20-4 overall and 7-1 in the Big 8, having swept Delta for the first time in conference play in coach Ramaundo Vaughn’s seven-year tenure.
The Vikings, who remain tied with NorCal No. 1 Sierra for first place, will host American River at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. ARC (15-7, 6-2) is coming off a 62-44 win over Santa Rosa as Rauline Martinez came off the bench to score 14 points. Alana Myers had 12 points and seven steals and Deja Samuels had 13 points.
DVC will host Santa Rosa (7-15, 2-6) at 5:30 p.m. Friday
Santa Rosa was led by Tiffany Salainas' 14 points and eight rebounds in the loss to ARC.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
The Vikings (17-6, 5-3), riding a three-game winning streak in the Big 8, are peaking at a great time.
DVC earned a confidence-building 75-66 win over host Delta on Friday, avenging a 10-point home loss in the teams’ conference openers. Rodney Pope led the way with 20 points, Victor Mijas had 15, and Jovontae Carelton and freshman center Eric Nielsen both had 14.
The Vikings have another big week in the Big 8, with home games against American River (12-7, 5-3) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and first-place Santa Rosa (15-7, 6-2) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Look for the DVC-SRJC game to air live on https://www.youtube.com/norcalsportstv.
In a thrilling 70-69 win over ARC on Jan. 6, the Vikings surged on a 37-32 run in the second half. Pope led the Vikings with 23 points on 9 for 16 shooting from the floor, 3 for 4 from 3-point range. Richard Reed led ARC with a game-high 32 points. ARC’s Jericho Avery leads the state in average rebounds with 12.8 a game.
ARC is coming off a 68-57 win over Santa Rosa, helping the Vikings move to just a game out of first. Center Erik Poulsen paces Santa Rosa with 17.8 points and 9.0 rebounds a game, and Justin Frazier is at 14.7 ppg. Carelton (17.7 ppg), Pope (15.0 ppg) and Mijas (13.4 ppg; 46 percent shooting) pace the always well-coached Vikings.
BASEBALL
The Diablo Valley baseball team opened the season with two hard-hitting wins over district-rival Contra Costa last week, in which the Vikings amassed 33 total runs.
The Vikings endured a series of setbacks in the offseason, especially regarding the pitching staff, with players departing for personal reasons. But the team boasts some big sticks in the lineup.
Returners OF Zac Guardino and C/OF Drew Downing (Northgate) both hit over .300 in the Big 8 last season. Freshmen SS Jordan Williams (Albany) and CF Tyler Toland (Deer Valley) are looking sharp, along with sophomores, RF Ricky Pato (Deer Valley) and IF Andres Rodriguez (Deer Valley), also key players.
DVC is guided by veteran head coach Steve Ward, in his 30th year of coaching.
Here’s a look at the first two games:
DVC 21, Contra Costa 6: The Vikings trounced the Comets Saturday afternoon, improving to 2-0.
Leadoff Jordan Williams stayed hot with a run of threes: three hits in three at-bats with three runs, three walks and three RBIs.
Drew Downing had two doubles and three RBIs as the Vikings had 16 hits. Frank Pannacci was 2 for 4 with three runs and two RBIs. Ricky Pato had two hits and two runs. Rob Towne was the winning putcher, working five innings and allowing two earned runs.
DVC 12, Contra Costa 9: Jordan Williams was an ideal table-setter with three hits and three runs scored, helping the Vikings prevail in the teams' season openers.
The Vikings, who scored 11 times over the third, fourth and fifth innings, received a huge game from Drew Downing, who was 2 for 4 with a double and four RBIs. Other Vikings with two hits were Zac Guardino (2 for 3, 2 RBIs, 2 runs), A.J. Welsh (2 for 3, 3 RBIs, run), and Frank Pannacci (2 for 4, run, RBI).
Winning pitcher Nate Jenkins allowed and two earned runs over three innings.
