Vacaville Christian High baseball falls in championship
May 23-Clint Motta has enjoyed his time as head baseball coach at Vacaville Christian, but he came up just a little bit short of getting his perfect ending on Saturday afternoon.
The Vacaville Christian High baseball team lost to Turlock Christian 10-6 on Saturday evening in Stockton, the last game in Motta's nine-year career at the school.
"Today was not our day," Motta said. "To win a championship game you have to be fundamentally sound and we weren't. We showed that nobody is perfect."
For Turlock Christian it was revenge for last season, when the Eagles lost to Vacaville Christian in the championship game. This time the Falcons couldn't quite duplicate their success.
Turlock Christin took a 4-0 lead in the first inning and Vacaville Christian could never quite catch up. The Falcons closed the gap to 5-2 in the third, but Turlock Christian added another four runs in the fifth to take a 9-2 lead.
Once again, Vacaville Christian showed its ability to bounce back, rallying to cut the deficit to 9-5. However, a line drive was caught in the bottom of the fifth to end the threat.
"We showed that fight to be able to come back from our mistakes, but it wasn't enough," Motta said. "It was a great game with baserunners sprayed all over the place, but in the end some of our balls hit were caught and Turlock Christian's balls fell through. I tip my cap to Turlock Christian, they were the better team today and I know that their head coach Bill York has them working hard over there."
Vacaville Christian finishes the season with an overall record of 18-5.
The Falcons were led in the loss by Jack Kimball, who had three hits and an RBI. Senior Dylan Eddings also hit well, collecting two hits, including a triple to go with two RBI.
Sadly for the Vacaville Christian faithful, the duo struggled on the pitching mound. Kimball gave up three earned runs in one inning, while Eddings walked nine and gave up three earned runs himself. Wyatt Hedlund pitched three innings and did not give up an earned run.
"We had a tough time finding the zone today," Motta said. "We couldn't find the top of the zone, we couldn't find the bottom the of the zone and when you keep throwing pitches right down the plate they're going to get blasted. But (Turlock Christian) had to go through the same adversity and they fought through it."
Hedlund and Drew Lindsay also had hits for Vacaville Christian.
Motta finishes his time at Vacaville Christian with an overall record of 114-59. The team won a section title in 2025 and in nine seasons (one with a 0-0 record due to the COVID-19 pandemic) he only had one losing season with an 8-9 mark in 2019. The Falcons made the Final Four for the section five years in a row.
On the ride home after the loss on Saturday, Motta said he wasn't trying to think that this was the last time he would coach. He told the The Reporter on Friday that his decision was based off wanting to watch his 22- and 19-year-old sons grow up.
"This is a sad-happy day for me," Motta said on Saturday after the loss. "It's weird. I'm happy for the next chapter of my life, but sad at the same time. I'm going to miss the preparation with the other coaches the most. The looking at who we have, writing the lineups and coming up with the tricks of the trade. I love the game and competing."
Motta said he'll also miss the players, especially the seniors from the 2026 squad.
"A lot of these guys I have coached since Little League back when they were around 10 years old," Motta said. "We teach them life lessons through the game of baseball and seeing them grow has been great. I've loved seeing them grow into fine young men."
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This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 7:30 PM.