The Santa Rosa Junior College baseball team walked off Marin 8-7 in 13 innings Feb. 14 at Cook Sypher Field, overcoming a five-run fifth inning before designated hitter Aidan Sakai ended it with a walk-off double.
Santa Rosa did its damage early. Center fielder Cooper Wood and second baseman Trevor Schlafer opened the first with back-to-back singles, and first baseman J.T. Summers brought home the first run on a groundout.
After Sakai was hit by a pitch and shortstop Brett Neidlinger singled to load the bases, third baseman Caze Derammelaere drove a two-run double to right. Right fielder Miles Clayton followed with an RBI single, giving the Bear Cubs a 4-0 lead.
Marin chipped away in the fourth, trimming the deficit to two.
The fifth inning flipped the momentum. A leadoff single and stolen base set up a run, and a three-run home run gave Marin its first lead of the game. Another RBI groundout extended the deficit to 7-4 and ended pitcher Lucas Hermes’ outing after 4 ⅓ innings.
Santa Rosa answered immediately.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, catcher RJ Johnson reached on an error and Wood walked. Schlafer lined a double to left field, scoring both runners. Both runs were unearned. Summers followed with a single that advanced on another error, allowing Schlafer to score and tie the game at 7-7.
From there, the bullpen dictated the pace.
Pitcher Jayden Hunt delivered four scoreless innings in relief, allowing just one hit and stranding the potential go-ahead run at third in the 10th inning. Pitcher Evan Sandoval followed with three shutout frames, mixing speeds and keeping Marin off balance as the game moved deeper into extra innings.
“You’ve got to mix speeds and mix spins, stay ahead in the count,” Sandoval said. “If you’re ahead, you control the at-bat.”
Santa Rosa had chances to end it earlier, including a bases-loaded opportunity in the 11th, but came away empty. The Bear Cubs left 18 runners on base.
In the 13th, it finally broke.
With two outs, Schlafer reached on a throwing error. Summers singled to left. Sakai followed with a double to right field, scoring Schlafer and ending the four-hour contest.
Santa Rosa finished with 16 hits, including five from Summers and three from Schlafer. Marin totaled 10 hits but committed five errors. Four of Santa Rosa’s eight runs were unearned.
“Anytime you’re winning games, it’s momentum,” Wood said. “It might not always look pretty, but a win is a win.”
Assistant coach Tom Francois said the win reflected the group’s identity.
“What I like about these guys is there’s no quit in them,” Francois said. “They just keep grinding until we find a way to win.”
For Francois, that mentality is part of something bigger.
“The brotherhood,” he said. “It’s about producing good men — discipline, accountability, responsibility. If we get good baseball out of that, that’s a bonus.”
Santa Rosa defeated West Valley 7-3 on Feb. 17 before closing out its pre-conference season with a 5-1 win over San Mateo on Friday, Feb. 20.
With preseason play complete, Santa Rosa now turns its attention to Big 8 Conference play, beginning Tuesday, Feb. 24 at home against Cosumnes River College at 2 p.m.
