Granite Bay grit: Grizzlies score on Elk Grove in 11th to three-peat as section champions
When it was over Friday night, after the dog-pile celebration and the team photo, the players sought out their beloved coach.
There was one more task to tackle in this remarkable baseball season for the Granite Bay Grizzlies: Catch the boss. That would be Pat Esposito, the only varsity baseball head man in program history since the school opened in Placer County in 1996.
And they still couldn’t catch him, the coach still agile enough to avoid the customary water bath as he darted away in the outfield. There was plenty to be giddy about as the Grizzlies three-peated as CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II champions, earning a gritty and inspired 4-3 effort over Elk Grove in 11 tense innings at Union Stadium on the campus of Sacramento City College.
Tim Ayers scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 11th to set off the fun. He was an unlikely hero because that was the first time the junior had scored a run this season. He was inserted by Esposito as a pinch hitter for a spark because he sensed something could happen. Ayers earned a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ben Kreizenbeck, got to third on Brady Roach’s fielder’s choice, and then seized his moment.
Ayers didn’t wait to be sent home when the pitch got away. He saw the pitch hit the dirt and bolted to the finish line, beating the throw. Esposito said later with a laugh that Ayers was “forgiven” for not waiting for a green light. The coach beamed about how his club showed no quit in these playoffs, rallying to beat Jesuit and Woodcreek just to get here.
It’s the fourth section banner for Esposito, the first coming in 2001. He was moved that the only program on campus to pull a three-peat section championship was the Grizzlies’ famed swimming program. Yes, coaches keep score of such things on campus.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” Esposito said. “Seeing them grow from the first day to now, how we stuck together, how we kept fighting, it’s just amazing. I don’t coach to win championships. I do it to see teams come together.”
Not that winning gets old. Granite Bay at midseason won the prestigious Boras Classic in Sacramento, a showcase of top teams in Northern California, rising to No. 1 in The Bee’s rankings. The Grizzlies (24-9) held their own in the toughest league in the section in the Sierra Foothill League. The SFL included league winner Rocklin, which played for the D-I title at Sac City.
Granite Bay’s resolve on Friday included preventing the storied Thundering Herd (21-13) from winning its record-tying 12th section championship. Elk Grove loaded the bases twice in extra innings, but the Herd was not able to get a man home from third base three times in the final three frames.
Both teams displayed stout pitching on an unseasonably cold night that got colder as the sun set and the wind kicked in.
Texas A&M-committed junior Chase Bentley started for Granite Bay, striking out eight and allowing one earned run in six innings. For good measure, Bentley crushed a two-run home run in the first inning that sailed over the building beyond the left-field fence. That was the only bomb hit in the four section title games held at Union Stadium, and it was one of the longest a prep player has hit at this park.
Jack Ghufran, the San Jose State-bound senior, struck out three for Granite Bay after taking over for Bentley, allowing one run in his two innings or work. Peter Caldera earned the win in relief with two strikeouts.
Elk Grove’s two senior aces also impressed. UC Davis-bound Ned Frutchey started, striking out six in six innings. Cal State San Marco-bound Russell Pettis fanned nine in his 4 ⅔ innings.
“Great pitching tonight on both sides,” Esposito said. “Incredible game. I have so much respect for Elk Grove and coach Joe Bellotti and those kids.”
Elk Grove tied it 3-3 in the seventh inning when Ethan Groves scored Devin Mitchell with a sacrifice fly, and then the marathon was on with four more innings. High school games are seven innings. Troy Taylor and Anthony Bascherini had RBI base hits for Elk Grove, which beat defending D-I section champion Franklin two out of three times in Delta League play and eliminated SFL heavyweight Whitney in a best-of-three semifinal series.
Granite Bay and Elk Grove advance to the single-elimination CIF Northern California regional tournament, which runs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at home sites. The CIF will post brackets on Sunday afternoon.