WALNUT - After over four hard-fought months, the baseball season is now down to the four teams and those squads will battle this Memorial Day weekend for all the marbles at the 3C2A Baseball State Championship, beginning on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.
In Saturday's opening game of the State Final Four, it will be Sierra College going up against host Mt. San Antonio, beginning at 12 p.m. In the nightcap, it will be Cypress College against West Valley College.
All games in the three-day tournament can be watched live online via BAOSN by clicking here or by visiting the Tournament Headquarters.
Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the four remaining teams, playing for the state championship this weekend.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
No. 1 South Seed - MT. SAN ANTONIO (42-6)
After missing out on an opportunity to play in last year's State Final Four which it hosted, Mt. SAC head coach John Knott and his top-seeded Mounties were NOT going to let this year's opportunity slip by as they enter this weekend's tournament flying high. Winners of 17 of their last 18 games heading into the Final Four and champions of the South Coast Conference, Mt. SAC rolled through the regional playoff over College of the Desert (5-0, 8-2) before pushing past a determined Chaffey ballclub in the super regionals' elimination game, 9-8. It is the first trip to the State Final Four for the Mounties since 2018 and a state title would be the program's first since back in 1965!
Against Glendale in the sectionals, after winning in the opener 14-2, Mt. SAC found itself down 6-0 after three innings and 8-3 after six before forcing extra innings and winning in 10, 9-8.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where the success lies in the Mounties. Mt. SAC has the state's best team batting average at .373, to go along with a state-best 667 hits, a .474 on-base percentage, 488 RBI and the state's second-best slugging percentage at .529.
Leading the hit parade for the Mounties is freshman Landon White, who is batting an eye-popping .476 with a state-best 108 hits (20 hits more than state runner-up Ryder Young of Chaffey College), a state-best 32 doubles and 72 RBI (4th-best in state). White has hit safely in 45-of-48 games played this year, including multi-hit games in 33 of those games.
But White is just one of SEVERAL Mountie hitters who should strike fear at every pitcher in this tournament, including sophomores Bryan Bradshaw (.419, 85 hits, 89 runs, 7 HR, 42 RBI) and Ty Thomas (.388, 81 hits, 64 runs and 64 RBI). In fact, six of their nine everyday hitters in the lineup have an average of .379 or higher.
Oh … the Mounties can pitch well too. They have the state's third-best team ERA at 3.23 and they are led by a trio of starters, including Izeah Muniz, Hudson Castillo and Brenden Menchaca. Muniz went 13-1 this year with a sparkling 2.09 ERA with a state-best 116 strikeouts over 99 innings. Castillo is 10-1 with a 2.42 ERA, while Menchaca is 10-1 with a 2.66 ERA. Sam Silversmith is Mt. SAC's late-inning guy with a 2-1 record and seven saves with a 2.70 ERA and 53 strikeouts over just 40 innings.
(Tony Altobelli, CCCSIA)
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