Walnut, Calif. – For the first time since 2018, the Mt. San Antonio College Baseball Team is headed back to the 3C2A Baseball State Championship—and they'll have home field advantage at Mazmanian Field. The Mounties punched their ticket to the state's final four by sweeping Glendale Community College in a best-of-three Regional Finals series.
Mt. SAC opened the series with a commanding 14-2 win on Friday, May 16, and followed it up with a thrilling 9-8 extra-innings comeback on Saturday, May 17. The Vaqueros wrap up their impressive season with a 33-15 record.
GAME 1:
Having already won two out of three against Glendale earlier in the season, the Mounties came in prepared. They wasted no time setting the tone, scoring three runs in the first inning on singles from Tyler Stull and Diego Ortiz, plus a fielder's choice hit by Jackson Giacone.
The Mounties exploded again in the second, scoring four more runs behind a double from Landon White, a sacrifice fly from Ty Thomas, and another RBI single from Ortiz. By the end of the third, Mt. SAC led 9-0, thanks to White's two-RBI single that brought home Bryan Bradshaw and Noah Rodriguez.
Ortiz added another hit in the fifth, followed by a two-RBI double from Giacone, pushing the lead to 12-0. Glendale finally got on the board in the seventh, scoring two runs on hits by Max Price and James Harrington, but it was too little too late. The Mounties capped off the win with two more runs in the eighth, courtesy of White and Thomas.
Izeah Muniz had another strong performance on the mound, collecting his 13th win of the season. He pitched seven innings, allowed six hits and two earned runs, and struck out nine. Joey Peralta and Ethan Corral closed it out in relief.
GAME 2:
Saturday's game told a very different story. Glendale came out swinging in the third inning, putting up six runs with a barrage of singles and doubles from Daniel Ruiz, David Lozano, Jordan Viramontes, and Max Price.
Mt. SAC got on the board in the fourth when White scored on a groundout by Ortiz. They kept the pressure on in the fifth, narrowing the gap to 6-3 with hits from Rodriguez and Bradshaw.
Glendale extended their lead to 8-3 in the sixth off hits from Alex Dolan and Daniel Ruiz, but the Mounties refused to quit. Bradshaw's RBI double in the seventh scored Terrel Jackson Jr., followed by a two-run homer from White to make it 8-6. In the eighth, Cole Nachreiner drove in Stull with a single, cutting the deficit to one.
Ortiz came through in the ninth with a game-tying RBI single. Then, in the top of the 10th, Rodriguez smashed a clutch triple to give Mt. SAC the lead. Glendale had no answer in the bottom half, sealing the Mounties' spot in the championship.
Reliever Matt Viveros earned the win on the mound, while Sam Silversmith secured the save.
NEXT UP:
Mt. SAC will face Sierra College in their opening game of the 3C2A State Championship on Saturday, May 24 at Mazmanian Field. Check the Mt. SAC Athletics website and social media accounts for game times.
Come out and cheer on the Mounties as they pursue their first state title since 1965!
STAY CONNECTED:
Follow Mt. SAC Baseball on Twitter @mtsac_baseball or Instagram mtsac_baseball
Follow Mt. SAC Athletics on Twitter @MtSAC_athletics Instagram /mtsac_athletics/ or Facebook @Mountie.Athletics
For additional information, please contact the Mt. SAC Sports Information Office at 909.274.4630.