Prep baseball: Royce Pennington is back with a vengeance

Homecoming for most high schools is sometime in the fall. For St. Patrick-St. Vincent High junior Royce Pennington, however, it came in early April.

After having to wait half the season to play baseball due to transfer rules in the North Coast Section, Pennington waited in the winter and set his eyes on April 2, the day he could return to the diamond.

Just in time to play rival schools Jesse Bethel and Vallejo High, the school he transferred from.

Pennington made his return count, picking up eight hits in his first four games, including a four-hit contest against his former Redhawks team last week. Then in the finale of a two-game series against Vallejo, he earned the win on the mound with an 11-strikeout performance in which he threw five innings and gave up just one hit.

He is the Times-Herald Athlete of the Week.

"It was hard to sit around and not play, but I was trying to do my best to support my team the best way I could," Pennington said about sitting out half the season. "It's been nice to come back and be able to help by playing. It was super exciting to come back against Vallejo and Bethel. There was a lot of bragging rights to go with those games."

Although Pennington faced his former team, he says there is no ill-will and that he is still friends with his former teammates.

"It's great to play against them, but I see them a lot," Pennington said. "We played video games against each other a few days before the game."

Pennington then put up video-game like numbers against his former squad, collecting four hits and coming just a homer away from the cycle in a 22-3 win. A day later, his focus was on the mound, with a five-inning one-hitter.

"My curveball was working pretty well that day," the Bruin said. "It felt really good right from the start of the game."

So what does Pennington like doing more, pitching or hitting?

"It depends on what I'm doing that particular day," the Bruins' junior said. "If I'm not pitching I also have to focus on playing third base. What I do there is just as important. But if I'm pitching, my focus is more on how to get hitters out and I'm paying attention to that a little more than hitting."

No matter what, Pennigton said all his success comes from the help from St. Pat's many coaches, including head coach Brandon Brown and assistant coach James Terrell.

"When I'm hitting these days, the ball looks like a beach ball up there and a lot of that has to do with all the individual work I've received from our coaches," Pennington said. "They've all played at a pretty high level and they've instilled a lot of confidence in me. So I have to give them a lot of credit."

Pennington also plays basketball in the winter, although he was one of four transfers on the team that had to sit out the entire season when North Coast Section Commissioner Pat Cruickshank found the four St. Pat's transfers to "be in whole, or in part, athletically motivated based on pre-enrollment contact as well as the evidence that multiple students have transferred or changed schools to participate in a particular athletic program at one school."

Pennington said that he probably enjoys playing basketball a little more than baseball, because it's a faster-paced game.

"My parents tell me I probably have a brighter future in baseball, but I'm not sure," Pennington said, with a laugh. "However, my love for baseball has been longer than basketball. I'm not sure which one I'll do in college, but it would be awesome to find a place I could do both."

Honorable mention

Kyle Cruzat. MIT boys volleyball. Cruzat had 14 assists in a loss to Bethel.

Madison Del Castillo, American Canyon softball. Del Castillo had two hits and stole two bases in a win over Petaluma.

Lucius Lissner, St. Pat's baseball. Lissner had three hits and scored two runs in a win over Vallejo.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 7:38 PM.