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OAKLAND, CA – Making his Major League debut, former Wildcat Cal Stevenson shined with the Athletics, even though Oakland fell 5-4.

It wasn’t long ago that former Wildcat Cal Stevenson graced the friendly confines of Hi Corbett Field as he played for Arizona Baseball from 2017-18.

Transferring from Nevada to Tucson in 2016, it didn’t take long for Cal to shine as he appeared in 106 games for the Wildcats, batting a career .302 in 367 at-bats with five home runs and 56 RBIs.

Well, fast forward a few years and Cal has been steadily climbing the prospecting ranks in the Minor Leagues.

A former 10th-round draft pick in the 2018 MLB Draft with the Toronto Blue Jays, Cal has bounced around a bit, landing with the Tampa Bay Rays organization before being traded to the Oakland Athletics this summer.

And just weeks after being shipped to the Las Vegas Aviators (Oakland’s Triple-A affiliate), Cal was officially called up to the big show after a successful stint in the Pacific Coast League.

Being called up by Oakland, Cal Stevenson made his highly-anticipated debut as he and the Athletics took on conference rival, the Los Angeles Angels.

Things have not been going particularly well in Oakland this season. The Athletics are just 41-71 on the year and are in last place in the American League.

However, on Wednesday afternoon at RingCentral Coliseum, Cal was one of the few bright spots on the day for the Athletics.

Getting the start at centerfield, Cal made his Major League debut as he made three plate appearances.

Stevenson would finish his day batting a respectable 1-3 from the dish with one run while also drawing a walk.

His first Major League hit would come in the bottom of the sixth when he would send a hard hit ball back up that middle that became difficult for the Angels’ shortstop to corral. Cal would then beat the throw down to first.

Officially becoming the 90th Wildcat to make their MLB Debut, Cal has a bright future ahead of him, and we cannot wait to follow his career!

Don’t forget to follow us at @ZonaZealots on Twitter and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of Arizona news, opinions, and recruiting updates!

Washington solidifies their case as the best team in the West, while Cal continues strong spring season.

Our coverage of the 2022 college season is presented by Spin Ultimate. You can get 15% off all college uniforms and swag right now at Spin Ultimate!

STEVINSON, CA — At the end of a dominant weekend, the #4 Washington Sundodgers took down #10 California Ursa Major 13-8 in a game in which UW was in full control from start to finish. There were lots of exciting games along the way across the division, as a gusty wind that built during the day challenged both throws and catches.

Final Results

Smooth Offense, Intense Defense Make for Comfortable Win For Washington

The Washington O-line, led by the “Twin Towers” © of Manny Eckert and Jasper Dean behind the disc, threw a no-hitter (er, no-turner) and didn’t give Ursa Major even a whiff at a break in the final. With able assistance behind the disc from Gabe Port and Assaf Golan, they sliced easily through a Cal zone that had given the rest of the division fits all weekend. On the other side of the disc, tight handler defense led by Tony Venneri, Jacob Cohen, and Isaac Woldemariam pressured the usually unperturbable Cal backfield, making for some tough resets.

On the first point, Washington’s Stanley Birdsong skied a pile in the end zone on defense, then grabbed another block after a Venneri huck was just out of reach. This time, Venneri’s crossfield scoober found a wide-open Martin Le for an opening break. Washington broke again on the next point after a Cal handler miscommunication. Cal floated an offhand backhand and just like that, they were down 3-0.

The Ursa Major offense finally settled down and the teams traded holds until 6-3, when Eckert crossed over to help try to break for half. Washington got their chance, converting after a deep hammer from Eckert to Chackgarin Brown got them within range of the end zone, where Dean dished to a hopping Eckert, closing out half 7-4.

It was more of the same in the second half, as the teams held until 9-5, when a harried Andrew Roy couldn’t hold onto an upline dish. Venneri immediately put up a high floater to Le all alone at the goal line. A couple swings later, Souma Yabuki lasered against the grain for a break, 11-5 Sundodgers. Holds the rest of the way gave us the 13-8 final score.

Much has been made of the Sundodgers experience. A seventh-year himself, Eckert called out the addition of sixth-year CUT-alum Birdsong as providing a calming veteran presence as well as great versatility on both sides of the disc. Expect him to have a bigger impact as he ramps fully up to speed in the Sundodger system. Washington is looking forward to getting even stronger with the anticipated return of 2020 OPOTY runner-up Lucas Chen, former SLO mainstay Justin Ting, and big target Peter Johnson. It’s hard to criticize much after such a dominant weekend, but Eckert noted that sometimes they made it too easy for their opponents with open side unders.

For Cal’s part, head coach Daniel Silverstein’s response to the game was brief and to the point: “They’re good. No turns.”

Oregon Provided Biggest Challenge to Washington, while Tufts Stalled by Cal

The one team to get up a break on the Sundodgers all weekend was #15 Oregon Ego. Washington made it easy for them right off, with a turf by Eckert following the centering throw on the opening point of the semifinal. Two around break throws later, Oregon were up 1-0. They had plenty more chances the rest of the way, including three throws later when Marco Muralles got a block on an underthrown crossfield look from Brown. Oregon got lucky as they picked up a deflection off the first throw, but a dead drop gave it right back to Washington. Another turnover made it three turns in six throws for UW. A nice upwind huck got Oregon close, but Golan picked off a stab for the end zone and hucked to Michael Buyco for an easy goal after getting it back from Eckert. The chaos continued, as Oregon popped up a swing, and Woldemariam threw into a poach. Ke’ali McCarter skied a pile on a Max Arquilevich floater to make it 2-1 Oregon. At last, a one-throw hold from Eckert to Brown provided the first clean point of the game, and Oregon returned the favor with a nice toe-in by Arquilevich at the back corner.

The next few points were much the same, with turns aplenty on both sides, but no breaks. Finally, after a couple of clean holds, Washington crossed over Eckert, Brown, Buyco, and Golan at 6-6, and a drop by Oregon provided the payoff. A laser from Eckert to Buyco, then a little blade to Brown sealed the break and half for Washington, 7-6.

Washington cleaned things up a bit in the second half. On the first point, McCarter put too much edge on a swing, and a nice OI backhand from Brown to Le made it 8-6. After trades to 10-8, a layout block by Dana Cameron Baker started the break train for Washington, as he gathered in the bookends from Golan. A one-throw huck from Venneri to Le got the next, and Washington closed it out 13-9.

Despite dropping the third-place game to Tufts, Oregon made the point they most needed to make: that they could hang with regional rival Washington. This youthful team continues to build skills and cohesion. As a young team, their goal is to build trust and love in developing over the course of the season. One key strength for the team is the versatile O-line cutter corps – McCarter, Adam McNichols, and Chander Boyd-Fliegel — who can all dominate deep or cut under and huck for the score. On the other side of the disc, the bodies were flying to get blocks, and Itay Chang running the show is what makes it all happen on a turn. In Stevinson, Ego really missed having Cylas Schooley to run the offense; in his absence, the rest of the team will have to make better decisions and sharpen their execution if they want to compete with teams like Washington when the Sundodgers are not feeling as generous.

From the beginning of the other semifinal, the Cal zone bogged down the offense of #14 Tufts. The E-Men remained patient, but progress was often slow, and they gave up a few early turns. However, the Cal D-line offense was not so patient and squandered their first few chances. Tufts actually got the first break to go up 2-1. At four all, Cal stacked a D-line to get back on serve. Evan Magsig got big for a layout block, and Andrew Roy found Trevor Aquino who did a nice break dance celebration. The next point was pivotal. Reminiscent (to me at least) of that infamous Stanford Superfly – Dartmouth Daybreak semifinal at 2018 Nationals, Tufts possessed the disc for what seemed like 100 throws, sometimes moving forward, sometimes back, only to eventually give up the disc. However, after the first few Tufts turns, a much less patient Cal D-line offense gave it back, starting the process over again. Finally, more than 20 minutes later on their fourth chance, Cal punched in a break. Another stacked D-line confidently converted their upwind break opportunity to take half 7-4, and from there, Cal closed it out 10-7.

The key to Ursa Major’s success was the reliable backfield play of Andrew Roy and Evan Magsig. They’ve made tremendous progress as a team with 14 rookies that fell well short of qualifying for 2021 Fall nationals, losing to UCSB in pool play and getting knocked out in backdoor quarters by UCLA. An important part of that development is the addition of freshman Dexter Clyburn. He was particularly impressive as an intimidating deep in Cal’s zone, making up huge ground horizontally or vertically for blocks, then captaining the D-line offense with sharp throws and slashing cuts. With the experience and patience to pass up narrow windows and make the extra pass instead, he’ll be a force for years to come.

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Former Stanislaus County CEO Reagan Wilson, who resigned in 2003 after concealing business ties, could begin working as Turlock’s city manager on Wednesday.

The Turlock City Council is scheduled to vote on hiring Wilson Tuesday, per the agenda packet, more than a year after officials started going without a permanent city manager.

Wilson served as county CEO from January 1993 to July 2003, when he resigned after failing to publicly disclose his private business relationship with a consultant, The Bee previously reported. Wilson apologized to the Board of Supervisors before resigning but said the advice of his friend, the consultant R. Lee Torrens, saved county taxpayers more than $12 million.

After he resigned, the county deducted about $20,000 from his last paycheck because Wilson used his county credit card for invalid purchases. A 2003 Bee investigation of county records found Wilson once paid for a $220 massage at a New York City hotel with the government credit card.

Wilson stands to make a base annual salary of $197,640 as Turlock’s next city manager, per the pending employment agreement. The annual salary is about $20,000 less than what Turlock paid former City Manager Toby Wells, who separated from the city in May 2021.

The council voted 3-2 to put Wells on investigatory leave in January 2021 and has filled the city manager position on an interim basis since then. In the council staff report, Interim City Manager Sarah Eddy said Wilson is the leading candidate for Turlock’s top management position.

“Mr. Wilson was quite forthright about his errors in judgment surrounding his departure as County CEO,” Eddy said in an email to The Bee Monday. “I think his directness about what he learned from the experience approximately 19 years ago was refreshing. I don’t expect it will adversely affect his tenure as Turlock City Manager.”

Wilson has not worked a government job since resigning from the county in 2003, Eddy said. The agenda report does not list Wilson’s current job, nor any of his work history other than referencing a 30-year career in various leadership positions.

Reached by phone, Wilson said he is retired and works as a farmer at a walnut ranch located between Stevinson and Hilmar. He lives in Stevinson.

“I’m looking forward to the council making a decision,” Wilson said.

His other previous jobs include running both Alternative Energy Group Inc. and Phoenix Rising Development Inc. as president, per his LinkedIn profile. Both companies are closed, Wilson said Monday. The companies dealt with reducing air pollution and developing solar energy facilities, per his profile.

Turlock’s city manager position has a high turnover rate. Since 2015, eight people have served as Turlock’s city manager on a permanent or temporary basis. Some worked the role multiple times in separate stints.

Since 2015, the position has been filled by Roy Wasden, Michael Cooke, Gary Hampton, Robert Talloni, Robert Lawton, Toby Wells, Dan Madden and Sarah Eddy.

This story was originally published February 7, 2022 12:33 PM.

With the San Luis Reservoir serving as a backdrop, Assemblyman Adam Gray renewed on his call for an audit of California’s entire water regulatory system.

Gray and State Sen. Anna Caballero hosted a summit of top state, federal and Valley water managers on June 17 at Grasslands Water District.

Gray was scheduled to attend the summit, but when Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, he asked Gray and Caballero to host the Friday meeting.

“We’ve got a broken system,” said Gray. “All of the talk about conservation and efficiency, those are short-term solutions. What about the long term? How do we have water security for our state’s future? That’s what we’ve got to figure out.”

“Until we understand how, where and why the system is broken, we can’t begin to fix it,” said Gray, explaining his March request for a top-to-bottom examination of the Department of Water Resources and State Water Resources Control Board.

Caballero echoed Gray’s concern, noting the colossal miscalculations in 2021 that led DWR to mistakenly release enough water to supply every household in the entire Bay Area for a year after grossly miscalculating Sierra runoff. The runoff was much lower, contributing to difficulties brought on by the drought that has worsened this year.

“Why isn’t the state using the LIDAR system?” Caballero asked DWR Director Karla Nemeth. Agencies like Turlock Irrigation District and others using the light detection and ranging system accurately predicted runoff, allowing them to help store enough water to supply area farmers and residents of 23 Bay Area cities, including San Francisco. “We would have known that (runoff was diminished) if we had LIDAR.”

The Water Board’s only Valley member, Dorene D’Adamo, spoke of similar frustrations. “We want to see information from models not based on the last 100 years, but based on what conditions are now.”

The San Luis Reservoir is an integral part of California’s water system, benefiting the Westside, as well as a long stretch from San Diego to San Francisco. Built to help feed 17 million Californians by furnishing water for farming, the system is now under enormous pressure to provide water for cities, threatened wildlife and farming.

“If we’re going to find more water for California — for farmers, for the environment, for people to drink — we’ve got to have a lot more projects like this,” said Gray.

Prior to the summit on Friday, guests marked the expansion of the reservoir and the 120th birthday of the Bureau of Reclamation. Already the largest off-stream reservoir in the United States, the crest of Sisk Dam will rise 10 feet to 392 feet, creating an additional 130,000-acre feet of storage and bringing reservoir capacity to 2,170,000 acre feet. The $100 million project will add “stability berms” for seismic safety for Westside communities.

Kennedy Hill is where President John F. Kennedy joined California Gov. Pat Brown to break ground on the original 3.5-mile dam in 1962.

At the San Luis groundbreaking, DWR’s Nemeth applauded California’s leaders from 60 years ago. “They had a vision of California’s future and they acted on that vision. Now it’s up to us to execute on projects that will provide water security for the future and for 40 million Californians.”

Tom Birmingham, general manager of Westlands Water District, noted that a very wet 2019 left the 54 reservoirs in the federal CVP and State Water Project system virtually full. But only two years later, farmers will get zero allocations because most of that water has been used for environmental benefits.

Meanwhile, “we fallowed 267,000 acres in Westlands alone,” said Birmingham.

Ric Ortega, who manages the Grassland Water District, said it’s not just agriculture suffering. “Habitat (projects are) also fallowing record amounts of acreage,” he said. “Millions of birds are going to pass over the Sacramento Valley and land right on us” without enough food or water to support them.

“This is a conversation we’re having in every major river basin in the West,” said the Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton. “If we do nothing on the Colorado River, we’ll hit dead-pool in 2 years. That’s how bad it is across the west.” Then she spoke of the consequences: “If the farm goes, then the industry it supports goes, too.”

Residents of Stanislaus and Merced counties can apply for financial assistance to afford prescription medications through the RxRelief program Turlock-based nonprofits started in October.

The program plans to spend between $25,000 and $100,000 in charitable funds to help people pay for prescriptions through the end of December, said Jeffrey Lewis, CEO of the Legacy Health Endowment and EMC Health Foundation.

“As we get closer to the holidays, our goal is to help people keep a few extra dollars in their pocket,” Lewis said. “If they can enroll in this program, we can assist them with the cost of their copay or deductible or enroll them in a program if they’re uninsured so we can cover 100% of the cost.”

How much the endowment and foundation spend depends on the number of participants, Lewis said. He doesn’t expect to write Community Health Centers of America a grant of more than $30,000 to pay for the medications. But Lewis said he hopes hundreds of people sign up, allowing the nonprofits to assess community needs and budget programs accordingly.

To qualify, participants’ household income must be at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. That 300% is $38,640 for an individual or $79,500 for a family of four. The federal poverty rate for Stanislaus County is 17.2%, per census estimates from 2013 to 2017. Applicants do not need to submit proof of income, and Lewis said he believes he can trust community members who sign up for the the program.

People without insurance and those with employer-provided or commercial insurance are eligible for RxRelief. But people in public programs such as Medicare, Medi-Cal and Veterans Affairs do not qualify, Lewis said.

RxRelief program participants must live in one of the following communities: Atwater, Buhach, Ballico, Cressey, Ceres, Crows Landing, Delhi, Denair, Montepelier, Gustine, Santa Nella, Hilmar, Irwin, Hughson, Keyes, Livingston, Newman, Hills Ferry, Patterson, Diablo Grande, Westley, Grayson, Stevinson, Turlock, Cortez, west Modesto, Bret Hart or Winton.

From offering similar programs, Lewis said the nonprofits know locals are rationing or reducing their prescription medication doses for financial reasons. Nationally, a 2019 Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 24% of people taking prescription drugs reported difficulty affording them.

“People cutting pills in half, people taking less insulin than they’re supposed to take so they can stretch it out — that’s not uncommon,” Lewis said. “It’s just unfortunate. Our goal is to fix that problem so people in these communities understand there’s a resource to help them.”

In the first few days of the program, Lewis said between six and a dozen people had applied. The nonprofits will decide whether to continue the program past the end of December based on the number of participants. If they see a lot of participants are on high-deductible health plans, Lewis said there is a high chance of extending RxRelief.

To apply, visit usfreemeds.org which is available in English, Spanish and Punjabi. Call 209-250-2317 for any questions.

This story was originally published October 12, 2021 4:00 AM.