Prep baseball: Granite Bay survives comeback from Jesuit to advance in the playoffs

Granite Bay High School infielder J.P. Smith struggled at the plate earlier this week in a playoff game against Stagg.

The star senior, who is signed with Sacramento State, went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts earlier in the week. Before his team played Jesuit on Thursday in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division ll playoffs, Smith hit the batting cage. He went back to his roots in an attempt to find his swing.

The extra work paid off. Smith had three hits, including a towering two-run home run to left field and drove in three runs in a 15-10 win over No. 6 seed Jesuit.

“I’ve been struggling (at the plate)” Smith said. “I had a bad day on Tuesday. So today I came back stronger. You have to stick to the grind. Don’t get away from what you do. I was in my head on Tuesday. I had a clear mind and it was a new day.”

It was a new day indeed for the third-seeded Grizzlies of the Sierra Foothill League. A few weeks ago, the team blew a seven-run lead to Rocklin in the final inning and lost 10-9. It cost them a chance at a league championship and bumped them down into the Division ll bracket.

The loss was a turning point and a reminder to never let it happen again. Against the Marauders, Jesuit cut the deficit to one before Granite Bay scored seven runs in the fifth. Cody Ferrante had three hits and drove in four. Avery Isola drove in three runs and Preston Fondren and Kevin MacIntosh had multiple hits.

Granite Bay senior Cadden Hunter got the start and struck out eight in 4⅓ innings. Chase Bentley and Jack Guhfran pitched in relief.

“That loss cost us a (league) championship because we couldn’t close it out,” Granite Bay coach Pat Esposito said. “Every time we scored runs (today) Granite Bay came right back. It’s like they knew what was coming. … It’s like the other team becomes the New York Yankees when we are up a bunch of runs. All of a sudden everything is dropping. It’s what happened against Rocklin.”

Days after losing to Rocklin, Granite Bay played Bay Area powerhouse De La Salle of Concord. In Smith’s words, beating the Spartans 10-5 on the road lit a spark under the team.

“It was one of those games that we didn’t care if we won or lost,” Smith said. “They were ranked ninth in the state, so we didn’t care. We played a really great game. It’s the team we can be now.”

Granite Bay started the season 6-11 overall. The combination of a tough league schedule with nonconference games against top-ranked teams contributed to the slow start. Now the Grizzlies (16-13) have won six straight and will travel to Fairfield Monday to play No. 2 seeded Rodriquez in a three-game series. Granite Bay will host the second game Wednesday.

“Our guys are on a mission,” Esposito said. “They know that because we didn’t win the league, we have to show people we are better than we really were. Our non-league record wasn’t great but I scheduled a lot of good teams. Sometimes your team just clicks and then you are running on all cylinders. The Division ll bracket is wide open.”

The three-game series is a new format for the section baseball playoffs. In past years, the final four teams would play at neutral sites in a double-elimination tournament. Now the winners of the semifinal games in each bracket will play each other in a win-or-take-all section championship game.

Jesuit finishes the season 18-12. In his final prep game, Brandon Forrester had four hits. Brett Griffiths drove in three runs and had three hits for the Marauders.