The Monarchs’ Wichita State commit put up an MVP performance.
The Central Coast Section doesn’t give out an MVP award for its baseball postseason.
If there was one, it undoubtedly would have gone to Nico Rodriguez.
The Wichita State commit went 7-for-10 with three walks over three playoff games, and he led the way once again on Saturday night in Mitty’s 6-2 win over St. Ignatius to claim the CCS Division I title.
He scored two runs and drove one in as the Monarchs erupted for six runs in two innings against Wildcats ace Will Siwinski, who had allowed just three runs for the entire season before Saturday’s game at Excite Ballpark.
“Danny Stienstra, our hitting coach, does an incredible job with approach all year long,” said head coach Brian Yocke, a 2003 Mitty graduate. “Ultimately, your approach is your approach, regardless of if you’re facing someone that hasn’t given up a run all year or someone that seems like he’s easy to hit.”
Across a semifinal win over No. 1 Valley Christian and Saturday’s championship victory, Rodriguez was retired just once, and it required a terrific leaping catch on a liner from SI first baseman Chase Gordon.
“He came back to the dugout and blamed one of his teammates, because after his prior at-bat, someone had said, ‘this guy can’t get out,’” Yocke joked.
San Diego State commit Luka Pintar wasn’t too shabby, either. He threw his second complete game of the postseason in the win, allowing two runs on five hits with Rodriguez leading the defense behind him.
The second baseman robbed Rocco Giometti of a hit with a brilliant diving forehand stop and throw two batters into the game, and even when Patrick Ruane became the first batter to reach against Pintar on a single with two outs in the third, it came after Rodriguez’s valiant effort on a diving backhand, but it was too late to make the throw to first.
“He’s been on fire,” Pintar said. “I knew that the defense came to play today, and I could lean on them for the whole game.”
Mitty celebrates its CCS Division I Championship. Photo: Ethan Kassel
The lefty struck out five, issued just one walk and shouldn’t have even given up the runs that he was charged with. No. 7 St. Ignatius (20-10) scored its two runs in the fourth off outfield misplays; Rocco Giometti reached on a single that got lost in the lights and scored on Archer Horn’s triple that was aided by Tanner Kern’s cleat getting twisted in the grass. Horn then scored on AJ Wineinger’s groundout.
It was nowhere near enough, though. Mitty (19-12-1) had two runs off Siwinski, who entered the night with just one earned run on his ledger for the whole year, after just four batters. Rodriguez led off with a walk, Saint Mary’s commit Makoa Sniffen ripped a double into the left field corner and Kern singled to center to score Rodriguez. Sniffen scored moments later on Waylon Walsh’s first-pitch groundout.
First baseman Grayson Munoz was hit by a pitch to start the second inning, and freshman Derek Allen followed with a sacrifice bunt that ended up in no-man’s land between the mound and first base. After a wild pitch made it 3-0, Rodriguez ripped a single to right for another run, then scored when Kern, a Sacramento State commit, blasted a triple to deep right field that would have certainly gone for a home run at most high school fields. Walsh followed with his second RBI, singling to right against reliever Beau Schaffer.
“Will had just been on fire,” Wildcats head coach Pollzzie remarked. “We aren’t here without him.”
After allowing back-to-back singles to Walsh and Andrew Sauceda to start his outing, Schaffer held down the fort. He retired 10 of the last 11 he faced, with the only blemish coming on Sniffen’s single up the middle in the fourth.
“Beau came in and did a good job,” Pollzzie said.
Horn, a sophomore who already committed to Stanford as a freshman, pitched a scoreless sixth, striking out a pair to work around a single and hit by pitch.
The gap was far too large to overcome, though. Pintar, who struggled to close league play, delivered his second straight stellar outing to cap off a day that started with Mitty’s graduation ceremony.
“It’s been an absolutely amazing Saturday,” Rodriguez said. “To have my family here to watch everything that we’re doing right now is really special.”