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Solis brothers face off in college baseball
• Sergio, Cal State Monterey Bay earn four-game sweep of Alex, Stan State
Sergio and Alex Solis
Brothers Sergio and Alex Solis played baseball against each for the first time at the college level this past spring. They were teammates for two seasons at Central Valley High School.

The Solis brothers, Alex and Sergio, enjoyed playing baseball against each other in college this past spring.

Sergio and Cal State Monterey Bay earned a four-game sweep (9-1, 13-5, 5-4, 19-6) versus Alex and Stanislaus State at the Otter Sports Complex in March during the 2022 season.

“It’s pretty rare to see two kids from the same family playing in college on the same field let alone in the same conference,” Sergio said. “It was pretty fun. Being able to play against him is a memory I’ll have for the rest of my life. It was definitely different. Usually, we play on the same team.”

“It was definitely something I was looking forward to,” Alex stated. “It wasn’t just any other game.”

“It’s really hard to make it to this level,” he added. “The fact that both of us did is pretty cool.” 

Family members watched from the stands as the two siblings faced off for the first time. Alex and Sergio were teammates at Central Valley High School.

Father Gerardo wore a Cal State Monterey Bay hat and Stanislaus State shirt. Mother Elida also donned college gear representing her sons’ teams.

“Our parents and some family that lived nearby made the trip to watch us play,” Alex said. “They were cheering for both of us and both of our teams.”

“They root for both of us,” Sergio said. “They don’t like to pick sides.”

Alex, a sophomore third baseman, batted 6-for-17 from the plate with two doubles, five RBIs and two runs in four games versus the Otters.

Sergio, a freshman catcher, was hitless in four at-bats with one walk in three games against the Warriors.

“He was catching when I was batting,” Alex said. “That was pretty special. There was a little trash talk going on. But nothing crazy. He was making me laugh in the box. I swung and missed and he said, ‘What are you swinging at?’”

“To finally get a sweep was a good feeling especially against my own brother,” Sergio said. “One of the funniest things that happened is he (Alex) struck out on a ball in the dirt. And I put a little extra on him when I made the tag. That was pretty cool.”

Sergio batted .211 on the season with four singles, four RBIs and two walks in 14 games for Monterey Bay, which amassed a 38-17 overall record, claimed the California Collegiate Athletic Association title with a 31-9 mark and advanced to the finals of the NCAA Division-II West Regional. Sergio made just one error while posting a .981 fielding percentage.

“I’m pretty satisfied,” Sergio said. “Typically, freshmen don’t come in starting right out of the gate. The chances I did get, I felt I did my job. As the season went on, I slowly started to get more playing time.”

“Our conference is really tough,” he added. “Being able to clinch the first seed so early, you don’t really see that. But it was the expectation. As I spent more time with the team, I knew we had something special.”

“It’s nice he’s on a team that did well,” Alex said. “I’m always rooting for him but when we play against him I want us to win.”

Alex batted .246 on the year with one home run, two triples, 14 doubles, 27 RBIs and 23 runs in 46 games for Stanislaus State, which compiled a 15-31 overall record and finished in last place in the CCAA standings with a 12-28 mark.

Alex, a psychology major with a 3.33 GPA, was also named to the CCAA Spring Honor Roll.

“This year was my first full year playing,” he said. “I’m happy with how I did individually. I got a lot of experience. But there’s always room for improvement.”

Alex and Sergio graduated from Central Valley High School in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

A four-year varsity member, Alex earned first-team all-conference honors as a senior and junior and was a second-team pick as a sophomore.

He batted .339 with four homers, three triples, 31 doubles, 100 hits, 55 RBIs, 81 runs and 39 stolen bases in 105 career games.

He had an on-base plus slugging percentage of .985.

He totaled seven wins at pitcher with 184 strikeouts and three shutouts in 1592/3 innings.

Alex hit .467 with four homers, 12 doubles, 19 RBIs, 27 runs and eight stolen bases during his final season with the Hawks.

He collected four wins, posted a 2.36 ERA and tallied 59 strikeouts while logging 531/3 innings at pitcher.

He ranked first in the Central California Conference in home runs (2) and slugging percentage (.800), second in hits (15) and on-base percentage (.651), third in batting average (.500) and RBIs (10), fourth in doubles (3), and seventh in runs (7).

He received first-team all-league accolades in two different leagues, including the CCC in 2019 and Western Athletic Conference in 2018.

Alex was recognized as Central Valley High School’s CCC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year senior year.

Sergio also earned four varsity letters in baseball at Central Valley.

He helped lead the Hawks to their first league title in the sport.

Central Valley won eight of nine games en route to a first-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference South Division standings during the 2021 COVID-shortened season.

Sergio earned first-team, all-WAC honors. 

He batted .404 with one triple, four doubles, 16 RBIs, 14 runs and three stolen bases while logging playing time at pitcher, catcher and third base.

He committed just two errors on defense. 

Sergio was named Central Valley’s WAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year during his senior year.

Alex and Sergio both earned baseball scholarships.

“We’re pretty similar,” Alex said. “We both had the same goal in mind and worked towards it individually and together. Our parents were all for us playing in college from a young age. They were very supportive.”

“Baseball runs in the family,” Sergio added. “Our cousin Ruben Ibarra got drafted by the Reds last year.”