WALNUT – It took 60 years, but the Mt. San Antonio College baseball team has finally made its way back to the top of the mountain after an 8-5, 13-inning win over West Valley College in the finals of the 2025 3C2A Baseball State Championship on Monday at Mt. SAC's Mazmanian Field.
There were plenty of heroes for the Mounties as they captured their first state title since 1965.
"This was a dream season, no doubt about it," Mounties' head coach John Knott said. "The season had to play itself out and we needed some good execution to get things done today. This is a great group of kids who bought in, and we knew nothing was going to be given to us. West Valley gave us everything, and we needed our best effort to get the job done."
The Mounties (45-6) grabbed the lead back from the Vikings (40-13) in the top of the 13th inning. Jackson Giacone singled with one out and moved to second on a passed ball before Terrell Jackson lined a single to center to bring Giacone in and put Mt. SAC ahead, 6-5. A double by Brian Bradshaw and an intentional walk to Landon White loaded the bases. Ty Thomas stepped up and delivered the knockout blow, lining a single up the middle to score Jackson and Bradshaw increase the lead to 8-5.
Mt. SAC's ace starter, Izeah Muniz, who put forth a 130-pitch effort two nights ago, had enough in the tank to pick up his first save of the season, retiring the Vikings in order to close things out.
"Izeah came up to me and said that he had enough gas in the tank to get us three more outs," Knott said of Muniz. "We had a lot of guys step up, and it took all of us to get it done."
West Valley got on the scoreboard first when David Estrada took advantage of a bad-hop off of the lip of the infield and reached second on the double. After Carmelo Rivera sacrifice bunted Estrada to third, Xander Sielken singled him in to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead after the opening inning.
Mt. SAC, the "visiting" team of the game, answered back in the top of the second. Giacone singled with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out single to left-center off the bat of Noah Rodriguez.
West Valley regained a 2-1 lead, but that lead didn't last long as Mt. SAC responded with a pair of runs in the top of the third. Singles by White and Ty Thomas and a sacrifice bunt by Tyler Stull were followed by a two-run single to center by Diego Ortiz, scoring both baserunners and giving the Mounties a 3-2 advantage.
The Mt. SAC advantage grew to 4-2 in the fifth when a two-out double by Cole Nachreiner was followed by an RBI-single by Giacone.
In the bottom of the eighth, after being held in check through most of the game, the Vikings found a way to even the score. A pair of infield singles and a balk moved a pair of runners into scoring position, and Sielken came through again with another key hit, driving in both runs with a sharp single up the middle, tying the game at 4.
After a wild pitch moved Sielken to second, Eric Altmark (3-for-6, 1 RBI) put the Vikings in front with a double to left field, scoring Sielken and putting West Valley in front, 5-4.
Mt. SAC responded in the top of the ninth when White – the State Tournament MVP -- launched a drive to deep center field that eluded the glove of a leaping WVC centerfielder Carmelo Rivera for a game-tying home run, evening the score at 5-5. White finished the weekend 8-for-14, including a 4-for-5 performance in the final.
"I remember I was ahead 3-0 and the pitcher threw a couple of sliders to bring the count full," White recalled. "I wasn't all that nervous, but I stepped back and slowed the game down a bit. I was looking for another slider and that's what he threw me. Once I saw the centerfielder drop to his knees, I knew it was gone."
The Mounties then used a single and two walks to load the bases before Viking reliever Jordan Jackson coaxed an inning-ending pop out to end the threat.
In addition to Muniz's final frame, Mt. SAC picked up strong pitching performances from starter Brenden Menchaca and Sam Silversmith. Menchaca threw seven strong innings before WVC's late-inning rally, allowing five runs on 10 hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. Silversmith took over and threw five shutout innings in relief on five hits with one walk and eight strikeouts, giving Mt. SAC 17 Ks for the game.
Giacone went 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, while Diego Ortiz added three hits and two RBI.
For the Vikings, David Estrada went 4-for-6 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored, while Sielken finished 2-for-6 with a run and three RBI.
(Tony Altobelli, CCCSIA)
