KENTFIELD, Calif. – The Casa Grande offense erupted in the third inning, and Austin Steeves dominated from the mound in relief as the No. 1 seeded Gauchos captured their seventh title in school history with a 9-2 victory over No. 6 Maria Carrillo at College of Marin.
Casa Grande (23-5) trailed 2-0 to start the third. The inning began with a hustle infield single on a bunt by Jesse Calkin. A single, a hit batter, a two-RBI single by J.T. Summers, and another single followed, knocking out Pumas starter Kai Beehler. Leadoff hitter Cooper Wood came on in relief but didn’t fare any better. After a strikeout to the first batter he faced, he hit a batter and then coughed up a two-run single to Elijah Sullivan followed by two more base hits and a walk. The Gauchos left the bases loaded but had put up a very crooked number – seven – all without the benefit of an extra-base hit.
“One of the things I loved about that inning is that it started with Jesse Calkin down two nothing, and he gets down a bunt hit,” Casa Grande coach Pete Sikora remarked. “And then it gets contagious. We did a good job getting our pitch, putting the ball into play hard, and that’s what happens. Today it really worked out.”
Casa Grande starter Jeffrey Rice pitched three innings, allowing two runs on two hits (an RBI double by Matt Anderson and an RBI single by Nate Sanders) in the first but then settled down, retiring five of six batters in the second and third. That was enough of a bridge to headliner Steeves, whose only blemish in four innings of work was a walk. Moments after the final play, a grounder to short, a Gatorade bath occurred amidst the celebration on the third base line.
“In a game like this it’s a pretty easy decision,” Sikora said about bringing in Steeves, who pitched five scoreless innings on Wednesday in the semifinal against Redwood – a game which also featured a seven-run inning. “We wanted to find a bridge to when we can get Austin in. I’m really proud of Rice today. A lot of pitchers in that situation giving up two runs with two outs could have folded…he came back, and he battled.”
All in all Maria Carrillo (16-10) had only two hits and put five runners on the bases. Outside of the third inning, the Gauchos made little noise on the basepaths except for the sixth, when they tacked on two more. Summers drove in Kalen Clemmens with a triple and scored on a Rice sac fly. Casa Grande had at least one hit from eight of their nine starters; the only one that didn’t, Danny Mercado, still found a way to be productive as he was hit by a pitch twice and scored and had an RBI.
Summers was the offensive star if there had to be just one, as he finished 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI. Calkin and Rice had two hits apiece; Sullivan drove in two. Ely Hasek, pinch running for Alex Cruz, had an inspiring dash to home from second in the midst of the electrifying third inning. The scorecard reflected the theme of unity spoken about in the post-game comments.
“We got a really tight-knit group, and we were really playing for each other and working hard for each other,” Steeves said.
“I tried to get these guys to rally and really get the energy back up,” Summers stated. “And once that happened it just kept going batter after batter and everyone was so happy for everybody, and it just kept rolling.”
“We tried to make a concerted effort this year into creating more of a team chemistry and team bond, little things like team dinners and getting guys to spend more time together,” Sikora added.
Casa Grande shut out No. 16 Northgate 3-0, topped No. 9 San Marin 4-2, and turned back No. 5 Redwood 8-2 en route to the final game, while Maria Carrillo defeated No. 11 Tamalpais, upset No. 3 Marin Catholic 8-7, and beat No. 7 Benicia 6-2 before Saturday’s game.
For Casa Grande, it was the first time championship since 2007, when the Gauchos capped a four-year streak of finals victories in the 3A Redwood Empire Division (the current format of Divisions I through VI was adopted in 2009). And for Maria Carrillo, the first medal-winning season was excruciatingly close once again, as the Pumas also made it to the Division II championship game in both 2018 and 2019 (last year, after two straight postseasons canceled by the pandemic, Maria Carrillo bowed out in the first round).
“They have a lot of heart, they dig deep, that’s why we made it this far, because they don’t give up,” Maria Carrillo coach Sam Bruno said of his team. “We knew this would be a tough one today. We gave them what we got. It’s never easy getting to this stage and falling but you got to be here to have a chance to win it.”
Casa Grande made it as far as the semifinals in 2022 as the number four seed. The Gauchos will hope to make a push for another NCS title next season, as several key players, including Steeves and Summers, are completing their junior year.
