Just one year removed from last season’s run to the Southern California Sectionals, the Southwestern College Jaguars entered the 2015 CCCAA baseball playoffs ready to book a trip to Fresno for the Final Four.
Unfortunately for the Jags, who finished second in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference with an 18-6 record (29-10 overall), they had to travel to Western State South Conference champion Glendale College (20-18, 15-6 conf.) in the first round of the playoffs. SWC split the first two games with the Vaqueros but dropped the rubber match, 6-3, in the second leg of last Saturday’s doubleheader.
Sophomore center fielder Daniel Goodrich fought back tears as “Lean on Me” blasted over Casey Stengel Field’s speakers after the game. He said the close-knit Jaguars had the potential for a deep playoff run.
“This one’s a hard one,” he said. “This team’s special, dude. Never wanted anything more with these guys. Everybody fights for one another. We’re a huge family. This one hurts.”
Nursing a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth inning, the Jags loaded the bases with one out. Freshman second baseman Codie Simmons stepped up to the plate against Glendale freshman Christian Keamy. Simmons connected only to watch Vaquero freshman Dylan Bahr make a sliding catch in right field and double up SWC sophomore left fielder Daniel Macias at first base to end the inning.
Head coach Jay Martel said the play was indicative of the Jags’ series.
“I think the whole thing really came down to the fact that we couldn’t really get two- out hits,” he said. “We had based loaded numerous times … we couldn’t get any big hits in key situations. If we could’ve just gotten a couple hits with the bases loaded, I think we could have won that game.”
In the bottom of the fifth inning, momentum shifted to Glendale when its third base coach Alex Kocol and head coach Chris Cicuto were ejected. Kocol shouted obscenities at the third base umpire after Vaquero sophomore first baseman Harrison Hoff was caught stealing third. He argued that SWC sophomore Jerrott Grey balked, but the umpire tossed Kocol when his patience wore thin. Cicuto was thrown out after rushing the field to defend Kocol.
Losing their coaches fired up the Vaqueros. They took the lead, 4-3, in the next inning when Hoff’s two-out, bases loaded ground ball was bobbled by SWC freshman shortstop Steven Sherwood. Sherwood recovered the ball, raced Bahr toward second base, but Bahr was ruled safe as Glendale’s Brazilian second baseman Bruno Teramoto crossed the plate.
SWC was ranked sixth in the coaches’ poll but was seeded ninth – one spot below 10th-ranked Glendale – in part because it lost two of its last three games against top-ranked Palomar College (32-6, 21-3 PCAC), ending a 14-game winning streak.
Martel’s squad finished the season ranked fifth in California with 89 steals, seventh with a 2.65 staff ERA and fifth with a 7.06 K/9 rate.
South Bay talent rules the Jags’ lineup. Of the 17 players that appeared in the series, 11 are from the Sweetwater Union High School District. Sophomore third baseman and Chula Vista High alum Anthony York said the familiarity helped the team’s chemistry.
“I’ve known most of these guys since I was a little kid,” he said. “It’s always enjoyable to play with them. All the new guys, I made new friends. It was great actually. I loved it.”
Goodrich, a Hilltop alum, had seven hits in the series, scored five runs and hit a home run last Friday – his 20th birthday. He said his last game with the Jaguars was bittersweet.
“It doesn’t get any better,” he said. “These guys are great. Any one of these guys on the team I’d do anything for. We’re a family. Yeah, it sucks how it ended but I wouldn’t want to end it with anybody else. I’m gonna miss these guys.”
