Golden Eagles Snare a Dozen All-GVC Spots

Golden Valley Conference champion Feather River claimed a dozen all-conference spots and three more special awards in the 2024 GVC all-league picks.

Selected by the conference coaches, Eric Valdez was named Pitcher of the Year, FRC leader Terry Baumgartner was selected as Co-Coach of the Year and Jason Gay was named Assistant Coach of the Year.  In addition to those three honorees, the Golden Eagles also had five First Team members, five Second Team and a pair of honorable mentions. 

In total, the Golden Eagles had six pitchers, giving credit to a staff that had a team ERA of 3.45.

First Team picks were pitcher Tyler Stolfich, catcher Zane Denton, infielder Andrew Lehmann, outfielder Jared Stevenson and designated hitter Shane Danley.

Named to the Second Team were Kyle Giovannoni (pitcher), Weston Russell (relief pitcher), first baseman Reed Alexander, catcher Quinten Terrell and outfielder Anthony Cepeda. FRC honorable mentions were pitcher Ian Hoslett and Trey Smith.

Terry Baumgartner directed a young Golden Eagle team to a GVC title, his 14th in 17 years as the head coach in Quincy. The Golden Eagles had a handful of important returnees, but Baumgartner and staff had to rebuild with newcomers. Rebuild they did, winning the conference title with a 21-4 record, a 35-10 overall mark and a No. 1 seed in the CCCAA NorCal regional tournament. Baumgartner shared the Coach of the Year award with Butte College's Anthony Ferro.

Eric Valdez had a monster year as one of thsoe returnees. In 14 starts on the hill, he put together a 5-3 record and a 3.08 ERA. In 68 innings of work, he gave up only 53 hits and fanned 83, a strikeout to innings pitched ratio of 11.04. In conference-only games, the sophomore from Reno was 5-1 with a 1.96 ERA. 

Valdez's pitching teammate Tyler Stolfich was a First Team pick. Also a sophomore from Nevada (Dayton), the 6-foot-5 righthander was 2-2 with a 3.70 ERA. In 41 innings Stolfich struck out 55 opponents. Catcher Zane Denton hit .383, including .452 in GVC games. DH Shane Danley hit the ball at a .352 clip and drove in 40 runs. Unanimous First Team selection Andrew Lehmann hit .364 with seven doubles and 32 RBI. He only struck out five times all season. Outfielder Jared Stevenson was also a unanimous First Team selection with 19 doubles, 51 runs scored, nine home runs and 65 RBI. He also stole 10 bases. 

Second Team picks include pitcher Kyle Giovannoni. The sophomore lefty was 6-2 with a 2.71 ERA. Relief pitcher Weston Russell, a freshman from Minnesota, had six saves and struck out 37 batters in 26 innings. First baseman Reed Alexander drove in 37 runs, had nine doubles and nine stolen bases. Catcher Quinten Terrell was named as an infielder, hitting .320, including .356 in GVC games. Outfielder Anthony Cepeda rounded out the Second Team selections, hitting .311 in conference games with 40 runs scored and 21 RBI.

Honorable Mention honorees were pitchers Ian Hoslett and Trey Smith. In 14 appearances, Hoslett was 4-0 with a 2.39 ERA. Smith fashioned a 6-1 record in a combination of starts and relief appearances. 

Jason Gay was named Assistant Coach of the Year. Gay as been the FRC Associate Head Coach for 16 seasons and has been with the Golden Eagles as a coach for 21 years. He was also an all-conference player on the very first two Feather River teams in 1998 and 1999. FRC's 35 wins in 2024 equals the second highest victory total in school history.