March 7, 2008
Moraga, CA - Saint Mary's College head baseball coach Jedd Soto recalls his first encounter with UCLA's head coach John Savage in spring 1991. "I was a junior at Reed High School [Sparks, Nevada] pitching against a very good Reno high school baseball team in the zone championship. Fortunately, we won that day." Both Soto and Savage grew up in the Reno-Tahoe area.
The Gaels will be looking for the same kind of result this weekend as Saint Mary's College takes on Baseball America's preseason #1 ranked UCLA Bruins at Jackie Robinson Stadium. It will be a PAC-10 week for SMC, as they host the Stanford Cardinal on Wednesday at Louis Guisto Field at 2:00 pm. The Saint Mary's College baseball team (7-1) is off to its best start since the 1977 team started out at 8-1. The 1977 team went on to set a school record for wins at 41.
The Gaels' record includes two wins on the road against a very good Stanford team who swept Cal State Fullerton over the weekend, and the UC Davis Aggies who swept Utah in four games. "We need to stay focused on playing the game one pitch, one inning, and one game at a time," Soto said. "We have had some quality pitching, timely hitting and made some big defensive plays. This weekend will be a great test for our club this early in the season."
After the '91 season, Coach John Savage joined the University of Nevada coaching staff. He was very successful as the recruiting coordinator for the Pack from 1992-1996 before moving to the University of Southern California in 1997.
In the spring of 1997, Jedd Soto was returning home after a successful playing career at both the College of Southern Idaho and the University of Louisiana-Monroe when he received a phone call from Gary Powers about a position on their coaching staff at the University of Nevada. "I was really impressed with the caliber of athlete on that 1997 team. The players and coaches had a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Savage and the job he had done as recruiting coordinator," said Soto.
One of Savage's recruits, Gabe Zappin (Carson City, NV), has coached with Soto for the past ten seasons. Zappin, the associate head coach at Saint Mary's, was recruited out of San Francisco City College by Savage. "I have always respected Coach Savage and look forward to competing against him this weekend."
John's brother, Pete Savage, has coached baseball at Reno High school for the past 17 seasons. "The Savage family has done some great things for baseball in Northern Nevada. The area has benefitted from their hard work and passion for the game of baseball," said Soto. The three game set with the UCLA Bruins will kick off Friday, March 7 at 6:00 pm, followed by a single game Saturday at 2:00 pm and a Sunday start at 1:00 pm.
