Alumni Update

The latest news on local athletes who are continuing to play at the college or pro levels.

Jason Bartlett
Sport: Baseball
High School: St. Mary's High
Pro: Tampa Bay Rays
The starting shortstop went 1-for-3 against the Toronto Blue Jays in a 6-2 loss and a 1-0 win in successive games last Tuesday and Wednesday before going 0-for-3 in a 3-2 win against the Blue Jays on Thursday.

Bartlett then went 2-for-5 with a run scored in a 10-9 win against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday. On Sunday, he went 4-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs in a 10-4 win over the Orioles.

David Cooper
Sport: Baseball
High School: Tokay High
Pro: Dunedin Blue Jays
The left-handed first baseman is hitting .304 with one home run, nine doubles, 13 RBIs and 10 runs scored in 24 games with the Blue Jays, an advanced Class-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays in the Florida State League.

Last week, he went 2-for-4 with a double in a 7-1 loss to Lakeland on Monday and then went 1-for-4 in a 5-1 loss to Tampa on Tuesday. Cooper was 2-for-4 with an RBI double in a 5-1 win over Tampa on Wednesday. On Thursday, he went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two runs batted in a 9-1 win over Tampa. He went 2-for-4 with a double, walk, run scored and RBI in a 3-0 win against Sarasota on Saturday.

Justin Souza
Sport: Baseball
High School: Galt High
Pro: High Desert Mavericks
The right-handed reliever is 2-1 with a 4.31 ERA in 12 appearances for the Mavericks, a Class-A advanced affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. Souza picked up the win in an 8-6 victory over Rancho Cucamonga last Friday. He allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out five and walking one

Ryan Mattheus
Sport: Baseball
High School: Galt High
Pro: Tulsa Drillers
The right-handed reliever is 2-5 with a team-high 16 saves and a 3.34 ERA in 57 appearances for the Drillers, a Class-AA affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.

He struck out three, allowed one hit and one walk while picking up the save in 1.1 innings of relief in Tulsa's 4-2 win over Springfield last Tuesday. Mattheus allowed two hits with one strikeout in one inning of work in a 6-5 loss to Springfield on Friday. On Sunday, Mattheus faced two batters and struck out one in a 9-5 win over Arkansas.

Zach Phillips
Sport: Baseball
High School: Galt High
Pro: Bakersfield Blaze
The left-handed starter is 8-9 with a 5.54 ERA in 28 starts for the Blaze, a Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Phillips went five innings in a no-decision in a 2-1 loss to Visalia on Friday. Phillips gave up one unearned run on seven hits (4 Ks, 2 BBs).

Dea Cook
Sport: Soccer
High School: St. Mary's
College: UCLA
Cook is in her junior season as a starting defender for the Bruins, who hold down the No. 2 spot in the preseason NSCAA/Adidas NCAA national rankings. UCLA (1-0) defeated UC Santa Barbara 2-1 last Tuesday.

Jon Davis
Sport: Football
High School: Jim Elliot Christian
College: Azusa Pacific
Davis, an All-American wide receiver for the Cougars, caught a game-high eight passes for 96 yards and one touchdown in Azusa Pacific's 41-22 loss to No. 1-ranked Carroll on Saturday in the Cougars' home season opener. Davis' 6-yard TD reception late in the fourth gave him a school-record 26 for his career.

Matt Davis
Sport: Football
High School: Elliot Christian
College: Azusa Pacific
Davis, a second-year freshman wide receiver and transfer from Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo who backs up his older brother, saw limited action and finished with no receptions.

Bobby Shepard
Sport: Football
High School: Lodi
College: Fresno State
The sophomore long snapper saw action in Fresno State's 24-7 season-opening victory at Rutgers on Monday.

Jason Beilstein
Sport: Football
High School: Tokay
College: South Dakota Tech
The junior tight end had five catches for 65 yards and two TDs in South Dakota Tech's 62-7 win over Haskell Indian Nations University on Saturday.

Do you know of a local athlete that has continued playing at the college or pro levels? If so, the News-Sentinel encourages you (parents, coaches, athletes and anyone else) to update us on how these former athletes are doing. We'd like to update our readers as often as possible. You can reach the News-Sentinel sports department by phone at 369-7035 or by e-mail at sports@lodinews.com.