10th-inning walk-off seals Central Catholic’s quarterfinal win over Twelve Bridges
Even though they tried to put the past behind them, members of the Central Catholic baseball team couldn’t help but think about 2025.
In last year’s Division III Sac-Joaquin Section title game, the Raiders squandered a five-run lead, losing in nine innings to Yuba City on a game-ending bases loaded walk.
That motivated them Friday in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-IV quarterfinals when the No. 2 Raiders (22-6) were in an extra-innings battle against seven seed Twelve Bridges (20-10).
Pitchers came up big, fielders made plays behind them and, after being held relatively quiet for most of the game, the offense made key plays as Central Catholic advanced to next week’s semifinals series with a 7-6 walk-off win.
“The maturity of our seniors, after what happened last year, that helped us,” pitcher Kayden McHenry said. “I didn’t have to really say anything. Seniors like Broden (Thomas) and Chase (Perino), we all remember it. We’re not scared of anything, we know how this is going to go. We can’t play timid. We know how to handle every situation and it really showed. I’m super proud of these guys.”
The Sacramento State signee did some of everything Friday. At 4 p.m. he took the mound for his first start in almost two months after recovering from an injury. He threw 83 pitches, gave up two runs and a home run but had seven key strikeouts. At 7 p.m. he sent everyone home, driving in Anthony Alberto for a game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th inning.
The walk-off came after he extended the game with a clutch home run over the right field fence in the eighth. With the Raiders trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth, he went with an outside pitch to tie the game and continue into extra innings.
“We were down by one and I didn’t want our season to be over,” he said. “Honestly, I was just trying to hit something to the right side. … He gave me that one pitch in my one spot and then, yeah, I just put a good barrel on the ball.”
The Raiders advance to the D-IV semifinals series where they face No. 11 Del Campo. The Cougars upset their way to the best-of-three, Monday-Wednesday-Friday series, knocking off No. 6 Oakdale in the first round and No. 3 Placer in the quarterfinals.
“We didn’t want to go home yet,” McHenry said of Friday’s quarterfinals win. “We had our goals. It got scary for a bit, but it wasn’t just me. I didn’t have my best stuff on the mound today but Cole came in and shoved, Max came in and shoved. And then the barrels, every guy was just finding a way to get on base. That’s what you’ve got to do.”
Twelve Bridges took an early 2-0 lead, scoring a run in the second and third innings. The Raiders tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth and took a 5-2 lead late after Cole Medina, Ramon Hinojosa and Perino all scored in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Rhinos answered with three runs in the top of the seventh inning to send the game into extras.
Twelve Bridges struck first, scoring in the top of the eighth but McHenry took over. His home run tied the game at 6-6 and his single with a runner on ended up producing the game-winning run. Alberto advanced to third on McHenry’s single but scored on a Twelve Bridges throwing error.
When the hits wouldn’t come, the Raiders found creative ways to score runs. In the fourth, Macrus Davenport scored from first on a throwing error, sliding into home, but the Rhinos did not have anyone covering. In the sixth inning, Perino reached on an error by the second baseman that later allowed Hinojosa to score.
Max Medina was credited with the win. The senior who signed with Cal Poly as an outfielder, entered in the seventh inning and pitched the final 4 innings and allowed just four hits, struck out four and gave up just one earned run.
“I haven’t been contributing with the bat as much as I’d like to. That’s been a grind,” he said. “Baseball always finds a way to give you an opportunity and I feel like that was my opportunity. I try to do anything I can to help the team out, because we work our tails off, man.”
The Raiders have some of the Stanislaus District’s most recognizable names, but Friday’s 10-inning showdown showcased that their depth is arguably their most underrated asset.
Offensively, 12 players recorded an at bat and most were competitive. Cole Medina came in as a relief pitcher and doubled in the bottom of the sixth. Hinojosa came off the bench to drive Medina in, mirroring a clutch RBI he had in Game 1 of the series against Oakdale. Levi Zalinski subbed in and got a hit and Anthony Alberto scored a run as a pinch runner.
On the mound, after McHenry subbed out they brought in Cole and Max Medina. Cole ended the top of the sixth inning with a strikeout and Max closed it out.
They will need contributions from everyone in the semifinals, a stage where the Raiders program has had a lot of recent success. They have won the series in each of the past three seasons. Most of the players on this team were major contributors on last year’s team that swept Oakmont to advance to the D-III title game.
They open the series at home against the Cougars Monday at 4 p.m. then travel to Fair Oaks for Game 2. The if-necessary Game 3 will be back at home.
“Obviously, the job’s not finished yet, we want that hat, we want that state title,” McHenry said. “It’s hard to beat us in a series, just with the talent that we have, with the coaching we have, the grit we have. It’s just one step closer to our goal.”
More Baseball Scores
Division I
No. 1 St. Mary’s 10, No. 8 Central Valley 0: The Hawks could not bring a run across home plate Friday and were shut out by the top team in the section. Isaias Valdovinos recorded the Hawks’ only hit. Central Valley finished the season as back-to-back WAC champions.
No. 4 Granite Bay 5, No. 5 Turlock 4: Turlock put up two runs in the top of the first, but the Grizzlies answered with three in the bottom half. Both sides added two more runs: Granite Bay in the bottom of the third and Turlock in the top of the sixth. The Bulldogs’ comeback fell just short. They finish the season 22-7 overall and 14-1 in Central California Athletic League play.
No. 3 Franklin-Elk Grove 15, No. 11 Enochs 2: Parker Johnson, Blake Bennett and Pierce Vongphakdy recorded hits for the Eagles. Johnson and Bryan Delgado drove in the school’s only runs. Enochs finishes the season 17-13 overall and 9-6 in the CCAL.
Division III
No. 1 Rio Americano 10, No. 8 Patterson 0: The Tigers were no-hit by Rio Americano pitcher Joey Dormann in Friday’s quarterfinal. The Tigers’ season ends at 11-19 overall.
Division V
No. 8 Escalon 5, No. 1 Lincoln-Lincoln 4: The Cougars continue to knock off Division V giants in an impressive playoff run that includes a narrow victory over the division’s top seed Friday. Escalon out-hit the Zebras and had one less error in the win. Dylan Ball hit a home run and Logan Huebner doubled and had two RBI.
No. 3 Sutter 3, No. 11 Hughson 0: Two days after upsetting No. 6 Liberty Ranch, the Huskies could not pull off another big victory over third-seed Sutter. Hughson was shut out in the game. Hughson finishes the season with a 15-15 overall record.
Division VI
No. 1 Ripon Christian 8, No. 9 River Islands 3: Jackson Howell had a single, a home run, four RBI and two runs scored in the Knights’ dominant home win Friday. He also pitched, striking out three batters in 1.1 innings. Trenton Cloward pitched 5.2 innings with four strikeouts.
No. 3 Bear River 2, No. 11 Hilmar 0: Hilmar upset No. 6 Summerville on Wednesday but could not find the same luck Friday. They held the three-seed to just two runs but could not bring one player home. There were just five total hits between both sides and Kaden Nicholls struck out eight batters. Bear River had one hit.
Division VII
No. 2 Turlock Christian 7, No. 7 Denair 6: The Eagles put up 28 runs Wednesday in a win and though they scored just seven Friday, they were able to sneak away with a one-run victory. Trailing 5-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth, Turlock Christian’s offense came alive, erupting for four runs in the inning. Cam Kelley had 13 strikeouts.
No. 6 Big Valley Christian 12, No. 3 Delta 3: A six-run sixth inning broke the game open for the Lions. Brady Heinrich doubled twice and Hayden Degnan doubled once. Noah Stel came through with a triple. Alex Avila (3), Hayden Degnan (2) and Brady Heinrich (2) tallied multi-RBI days. Heinrich also pitched, striking out six and allowing three earned runs.
