Since Mike Firenzi took over the program in 2015, ten players have gone on to play at the next level. Two more, Anthony Pomilia and Dio Cornet who didn’t finish their Senior campaigns at Redwood in 2018 are now playing ball at College of Marin, bringing the total to 12. Here’s the latest on our beloved Giants Alumni:
Class of 2015:
Tyler Peck – St. Louis Cardinals
2019: Tyler helped to lead Chapman University to a National Championship. Peck led all of Division III and set the school record with 155 strikeouts in 2019. He was a First Team All-American selection by D3baseball.com and American Baseball Coaches Association and ended the season with an 8-4 record and a 2.22 ERA. Tyler was drafted in the 28th round of the MLB June amateur draft by the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
2018: ABCA All-West Region Second Team selection. NCBWA National Pitcher of the Year for the week of May 10th. Started 13 games. Led the bullpen with a 2.63 ERA and 98 strikeouts. Threw two complete games for a 7-2 record. Pitched 7.1 innings of Chapman’s first no-hitter since 1973, striking out 10 batters. He was named to the 2018 Second Team All SCIAC.
Tyler was the SF Chronicle North Bay Player of Year in 2015 and made the 2015 Cal High Sports First team All-State and First Team All-MCAL. For the Redwood Varsity, Tyler pitched 144 innings, boasting a 1.31 ERA (.92 in 2015), with 110 strike outs and 18 wins. He held opponents to a .186 batting average.
Class of 2016:
Zach Cohen – Junior at University of New York
2017-18: Made 13 appearances, including one start…ended the season with a 1-2 record and a 5.29 ERA in 17.0 innings…held opponents to a .237 average…tossed a season-high three innings and struck out a season-high five batters against John Jay (4/18)…IAAC Spring Honor Roll…ECAC Academic Honor Roll.
2016-17: Appeared on the mound in 13 games, including two starts…finished the season with a 3-1 record…tossed a season-high three innings vs. Merchant Marine (4/19)…struck out a season-best two batters vs. Dubuque (3/13) and Yeshiva (5/4)…pitched two shutout innings against Case Western (4/8) and Yeshiva (5/4).
For the Redwood Varsity, Zach was a four-year team member and ended his career with a 1.78 ERA, with 138 strike outs in 216 innings, held opponents to a .229 batting average and had 17 wins. He was a member of Redwood Honors Society and California Scholastic Federation. He helped lead the team to their 2015 NCS title. He was named 2nd Team All-MCAL in 2015.
Zack Kopstein – Junior at M.I.T.
2018: NEWMAC Academic All-Conference… Led the team with a 4-2 record as he made seven appearances and six starts in 39.2 innings pitched… Had 28 strikeouts with a .264 batting average against and a 3.63 ERA… Earned a win over nationally-ranked Trinity (Texas) on 3/2 as he threw five innings and allowed just two runs with two strikeouts… Earned a win over Emerson on 4/7 with eight strikeouts and six shutout innings… Picked up a win over Babson on 4/14 and won the NEWMAC Tournament First Round game vs. Springfield on 5/3 as he went seven innings with five strikeouts in the 5-0 win.
At Redwood ZackAP Scholar with Distinction. Received Math, Science and English Department awards was the Co-president of the Rocketry Club. He was a Member of the California Scholarship Federation and the Redwood High School Honors Society and was the Class salutatorian. In his Varsity career at Redwood, Zack played in 77 games, hit .285 with a .397 On Base Percentage, had 43 hits and scored 30 runs. On the mound he had a 1.74 ERA in 104 innings pitched, striking out 105 and ended with 14 wins.
Class of 2017:
Henry Zeisler – Junior at Chapman University
20202020: Started in all 15 games at various positions…posted a team-high .480 batting average, five home runs and 19 RBI…walked 15 times and struck out only six…tied school record for RBI in a single game (8) against East Texas Baptist (2/14)…
2019: Appeared in 51 games in his sophomore campaign…hit .305 with 11 doubles, three triples and six home runs…tallied 30 RBI while stealing five bases…posted a .970 fielding percentage with 10 double plays…2019 NCAA Division III National Champion…2019 DIII College World Series MVP…
2018: Appeared in 21 games with a .200 batting average, three doubles and a home run…2018 ALL-ACADEMIC (SCIAC) At Redwood Henry was a Redwood Honors Society Lifetime Member. In his Varsity career at Redwood, Henry played in 36 games, boasting a .378 batting average and a .484 on base percentage. He had 37 hits, knocking in 20 runs and scored 24 runs for the Giants. Henry’s senior season was cut short with an injury from which he has fully recovered.
Michal Benz – Junior at Sonoma State
2020: (Junior at USF): Appeared in seven games in relief during his first season on The Hilltop .
Made his USF debut in the season opener on Feb. 14 at CSUN, throwing 2 1/3 innings, his longest outing of the year … Had four scoreless appearances, including two of at least an inning long, and recorded strikeouts in three appearances … Threw a scoreless inning in the Dons’ 12-4 win over Sacramento State on March 10 … Also threw 2/3 scoreless innings versus UC Davis in the Dons’ 6-0 win on Feb. 18 in the home opener … Only allowed one extra-base hit in 42 batters faced and 7 2/3 innings of work.: 2019: (Sophomore at College of Marin) – All Conference. Recorded six saves in 23 appearances, tallying 68 strikeouts in 63 innings with a 3.71 ERA … Displayed excellent control in 2019, walking only 18 while posting a near-4-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio. 2018: (Freshman at College of Marin): 18 appearances…2 wins with 1 loss. 25 innings pitched with 13 strikeouts and 10 walks. In his Varsity career at Redwood Michael pitched 54 innings, striking out 48 and ended with a 1.92 ERA and 3 wins. He was named Honorable Mention All MCAL Baseball Team in 2017
Class of 2018:
Dane Goodman – Freshman at Whittier College
Dane was a pre-season All-American and was named to the First Team All MCAL Baseball Team in 2017 and the Second Team All MCAL Baseball Team in 2018. In his Varsity career at Redwood, Dane played in 53 games, boasting a .450 batting average with 57 hits, 43 runs scored and 31 runs batted in
Josh Cohen – Freshman at Emerson College
Josh was a three-year Varsity player and was named Honorable Mention All MCAL Baseball Team in 2018. As a Varsity player at Redwood, Josh had 3 wins and in 36 innings pitched he tallied 35 strike outs and held opponents to a .223 batting average. At the plate he ended his career hitting .331, stealing 22 bases and scoring 50 runs. He knocked in 20 on 58 hits and only struck out 19 times in 217 plate appearances.