RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - The Cordova Lancers have come to the end of their final season in the Greater Sacramento League (GSL). Next year they will be playing in the more competitive Metro League. They ended the season with an overall record of 14-13-1 and a 10-1-1 record in league competition. The lone tie game against West Campus is what stood between the Lancers and the Florin Panthers when it came time to crown a league champion. Head Coach Scott Ahlstrom is very proud of his players and is anxious to get working in the off-season for next year. “To have a lineup of only one junior, 3 sophomores and 5 freshman on a consistent basis and still be successful is an indication of where this program is going,” said Ahlstrom.

His young squad of mostly freshmen and sophomores put up some pretty nice numbers with three of his players being chosen with All-League honors. These three individuals are sophomore Levi Nyberg, freshman Gage Cordova and freshman Bro Ahlstrom.

Nyberg finished the season with very impressive league stats. He finished first in batting average with .676, first in doubles with 16, first in on base percentage with .715, first in stolen bases with 49, first in hits with 50, first in slugging percentage with .961 and second in RBIs with 34.

 Levi Nyberg throws a runner out at first against Florin.

Ahlstrom also had a great season. He finished second in league in on base percentage with .586, third in the league with a .468 batting average, sixth place in slugging percentage with .571 and seventh in RBIs with 18.

 Bro Ahlstrom belts a base hit against Capital Christian.

 Bro Ahlstrom eyes home plate against Foresthill.

 Bro Ahlstrom holds a runner at second against Foresthill.

Cordova had a very impressive year on the mound for the Lancers, finishing fourth in league with a 4-3 record, eighth in earned run average (ERA) with 2.90 and ninth in league with 39 strikeouts.

 Gage Cordova delivers the pitch against Foresthill.

Remember Cordova and Ahlstrom are only freshmen, playing against many players three years older.

Nyberg was also very impressive on the mound as he finished first in league for ERA with 0.98, second in strikeouts with 86 and second in wins with a 4-2 record. Besides All-League honors, Nyberg was also honored with being selected to the Superior California 2024 All-Stars for large schools. Nyberg’s accomplishments are bringing back memories of many Lancers before him that have gone to the next level and beyond.

I’m visioning great things to come in the next couple of years. A jump up to the Metro League will certainly be more of a challenge for these young Cordova players, but I think they have the will power and the proper coaching guidance to lift their game play to the highest level. They say that cream always rises to the top, and that’s what we are certainly witnessing here. All it takes is a few good men to lead the rest of their teammates to a higher level. Other players that I see becoming a major contributor for the next couple of years are freshman Gabriel Bargas, sophomore Alfonso Maya, junior Logan Salazar and sophomore Evan Nelson.

The Lancers did see some action in the postseason as they traveled to Rocklin on May 7 to take on the No.1 seeded Whitney Wildcats in the first round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. Unfortunately, the No.16 seeded Lancers were out-gunned, losing 11-0. Every year Cordova is bumped up to the Second Division for the playoffs after competing in the Fourth Division all year.

Next year Cordova will have the opportunity to field a junior varsity team which will make a big difference in building the program. Many younger players didn’t get a lot of playing time this year because of not having a JV team. The reason Cordova didn’t have a JV team was because most of the other schools in the Greater Sacramento League didn’t have enough players to field a JV team, let alone a varsity team. That’s why I think the jump up to the Metro League will make a big difference, not only in team morale but in experience.