On the back of a seventh inning Josh Martin go-ahead grand slam, the Santa Rosa Junior College baseball team secured a 2-0 sweep of American River College in regionals at home Saturday.
Following the win, the Bear Cubs will host the three-team super regional round and face off against the winners of Laney vs. Folsom Lake and Chabot vs. San Joaquin Delta.
Freshman pitcher Wyatt Abramson started on the mound for the Bear Cubs and ran into some trouble early. He allowed two runs on three hits before getting two clutch outs to limit the damage.
The SRJC offense went hitless through two innings.
Sophomore pitcher and Division I Southeast Missouri State commit, Brice Cox, relieved Abramson in the top of the second and gave up one hit but got out of the inning unscathed.
The Bear Cubs got on the board in the top of the third when Tyler Nordyke singled and stole second, followed by an RBI hit by Ayden Herrguth.
Like Abramson, the ARC hitters didn’t take long to figure Cox out, putting up two more runs on four hits. Through three innings, ARC tallied eight hits and took a 4-1 lead.
Cox settled in the rest of the way, finishing with two runs and seven hits with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings pitched.
“That second inning I made some pitches, but they just found holes,” he said. “After that I tried to get more of a rhythm and put up a bunch of zeroes.”
ARC starter Eli Campbell stifled the Bear Cubs bats through six innings, giving up one earned run on seven hits with three strikeouts.
After allowing two hits to open the seventh, Campbell exited and reliever Ethan Palumbo came on to pitch. Freshman Anane Wilson pinch-hit and was immediately hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Sophomore third baseman Tyler Nordyke then hit a ground ball through the legs of the ARC third baseman to bring home two runs and cut the deficit to 4-3.
Palumbo got the next two outs, then with runners on second and third, intentionally walked freshman designated hitter J.T. Summers to load the bases.
Sophomore first baseman Josh Martin drew a 2-0 count before unloading a ball deep over the right-field wall for a grand slam, putting the Bear Cubs up 7-4.
“I just knew I had to get a job done,” Martin said. “I knew if he threw it there I’m gonna hammer it and I got that exact pitch.
Cox got the first two outs in the bottom of the seventh before freshman and Big 8 conference saves leader Raul Valdivia came on to get the final out. Valdivia then slammed the door in the final two innings, securing his 10th save of the season and the 7-4 Bear Cubs win.
“It’s great to see [Valdivia] go out there and do well,” Cox said. “Never really a doubt with him.”
SRJC pulled off the win despite being outhit 10-8. According to assistant coach Tom Francois, the team will have to clean up their play in the next round.
“If you make mistakes, a good team will capitalize,” he said. “We’re going to have to play a lot better than this to get to the state championship. This is without a doubt one of our weaker games.”
The Bear Cubs will begin super regionals at home Friday, with their opponent and start time still to be determined.
