Sierra opens baseball season with wins over Cosumnes River, Laney

Cold temperatures and thick fog settled over McBean Stadium in Lincoln on Friday night, but Sierra College's baseball team wasted little time finding its rhythm. Behind a deep pitching staff and timely offense, the Wolverines opened the 2026 season with a 7-0 shutout victory over Cosumnes River, showing little rust despite breaking in a host of new faces. The Wolverines have just 12 sophomores out of 35 players on the roster, but there is plenty of talent on a roster that is eager to prove itself. "For a lot of guys, it was their first college at-bat and their first college inning on the mound," Sierra coach Ryan Evangelho said. "So it was nice to get them out there and get their feet wet." Sierra leaned early on returning ace Matias Michel, who struck out the first five batters he faced and pitched four scoreless innings. Evangelho praised Michel's ability to settle the game, especially in challenging conditions. Michel allowed just one hit and struck out nine. "In a game like this where it's cold and foggy, we just want to pound the zone, make them hit and let our defense work," Evangelho said, applauding Michel's start. "We've got a bunch of guys in the outfield who can run balls down, and even the guys behind the starters are pretty good players." The Wolverines broke the game open with a five-run second inning and added insurance the rest of the way. Freshman Chris Fisher delivered the biggest swing of the night, blasting a grand slam in his first college game. "It's funny," Evangelho said with a laugh. "I asked him after the game, 'What'd you get?' He said, 'Fastball down the middle.' I said, 'Then stop swinging at that slider and you'll hit some more of those.' I was teasing him a little bit, but it's good for him." Landon Vetter and Luke Oyler also drove in runs. Sierra totaled nine hits and drew eight walks, showing patience despite missed signs and early-season timing issues. "We'll clean that stuff up," Evangelho said. "That's just new guys being new guys for a little bit." On the mound, Sierra pieced together the shutout with Michel, Bryson Ruiz and freshman Ben Brown. Brown worked through two jams in his college debut to close the game. Sierra's pitching staff amassed 15 strikeouts while walking three. "It's not always going to be super clean," Evangelho said. "Our thing is bend, don't break. That's the DNA we've created here. It's not always pretty, but you've got to find a way to get it done." Despite the influx of newcomers, expectations remain high for a Sierra program coming off two Final Four appearances in the last three seasons. Evangelho emphasized patience as the season unfolds. "It's not a sprint, it's a long haul," he said. "We're just trying to get better every single day and peak at the right time. We're going to make mistakes early, but if we clean them up and don't keep repeating them, we're going to be pretty good." Sierra continued its strong opening weekend on Saturday with a 4-2 victory over Laney College in Oakland. The Wolverines will face Santa Ana at Reedley College on Thursday.