GOMES TO PLAY BALL FOR BUTTE
Landon Gomes, a dual-sport star for Ferndale High, has chosen to play junior college baseball at Butte College.
“It’s been my plan since being a little kid to play college baseball,” Gomes said. “Butte was my top choice, and I’m excited for this opportunity.”
Gomes was a four-year starter for Ferndale and a key utility piece during the summer of 2019 for the Humboldt Eagles 19-Under, an American Legion club which was one of four teams to advance to the state championships.
Gomes spent his fall months with a Wildcats helmet on, leading the football team to back-toback Little 4 Conference titles during his junior and senior seasons in 2018 and 2019. In 2019 Gomes helped the Wildcats to their first win over Fortuna since 2012, bringing the coveted Milk Can back to the Cream City for the first time in over half a decade.
Gomes will join a Butte team which will bring him close to home several times a season.
Butte competes in the Golden Valley Conference along with College of the Redwoods. Butte finished 31-11 overall in 2019.
Gomes said Matt Tomlin, who coached him on the Eagles, was able to get his name in the heads of the coaches at Butte and played a big hand in getting him there.
“Gomes is a tough, hardnosed player,” Tomlin said. “It was a pleasure to coach him last summer and I hope I get to again this summer. He’s a great teammate and there’s a whole lot he can do on the field.”
Gomes’ high school coach Justin Anderson said seeing players like Gomes ascend to the college ranks is why coaches do the job.
“I’m excited for him, I know Butte was where he really wanted to go. Landon has been one of the best players in the county for the last few years and he’s just such a talented individual,” Anderson said. “We (coaches) do it so kids like Landon can have that opportunity to move on. When they do, it makes it all worth it.”