Roseville baseball wins thriller as 3 Placer schools earn CIF section titles
There’s a lot of pride percolating on the Roseville High School campus these days, and that’s what athletics can do to boost the mood in the quad and in the classroom.
The Tigers baseball team wears orange tips with “The Ville” splashed across the front — because it’s not just Roseville, it’s “The Ville” with a blast of old-school cool. Established in 1912 and looming as the third second-oldest high school in Placer County behind Placer High (opened in 1897) and Lincoln, home of the Zebras since 1907, Roseville flexed some more muscle on Thursday night at Sacramento City College.
Despite committing seven errors in a wild game, the Tigers prevailed over Bradshaw Christian 6-5 at Union Stadium to seize the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship. It’s the first such crown for the program in a decade and the fifth overall. The first two section banners for Roseville in this sport were in 1982 and ‘83, and the next two coming in 2011 and 2015.
“We’re doing great things here; we play baseball the right way, and kudos to the boys,” Roseville coach Eli Garcia said. “We’re going to work hard. Missing the playoffs last year put a chip on our shoulder, and we knew if we got in the dance, we were going to compete and live and die with the results.”
Down to their final strike and trailing 5-4 in the top of the seventh inning (prep games go seven), the Tigers kept scratching and clawing their way. Austin Chang hit a shot into the gap to drive in two runs for a 6-5 lead. Chang is one of the unsung grinders in orange.
The team star is UC Davis-committed ace Tyler Ritter. The junior got into an immediate jam in the first inning, loading the bases with no outs, but he struck out the side to get out of it, and he weathered the talented Pride and their championship pedigree to move to 9-0 on the season as his team improved to 21-11 overall.
Ritter had a no-hitter through four innings before the Pride rallied. Colton Wolfe earned the save with two innings of no-hit ball. Then it came down to a remarkable defensive play by freshman infielder Benjamin Jordan, who raced into the gap to glove the final out, kicking off a celebration.
Ritter is a multisport star at Roseville, a 4.1 GPA student who said he maximizes his prep days by being as involved as he can, explaining: “It’s the thing to do.”
Ritter scored 18 points in the fourth quarter of a playoff opener to lead the Tigers in basketball on the eve of the baseball campaign for the first Roseville hoops postseason win in 20 years. Ritter’s father, Bobby Ritter, is the basketball coach.
“Playing different sports helps me, keeps me involved, keeps me active,” Ritter said. “It’s been a blast.”
Garcia said it’s a blast to have Ritter on board.
“I’m going to live or die with Tyler Ritter,” Garcia said. “He did a hell of a job. We’re so blessed that he’s a Roseville Tiger.”
Garcia doesn’t take any of this success for granted. He was a two-time section champion in baseball when he played for the Lincoln Zebras in 2015 and 2016, and now he has a blue banner in just his second season as Roseville’s coach.
Roseville will advance to the CIF Northern California Regional Playoffs that start June 3. Brackets will be released June 1 as Bay Area and Fresno teams, among others, will be crowning champions next week.
Division II
Del Oro 7, Lodi 5 — Jack Tews clubbed a two-out, two-run double in the fifth inning to highlight a four-run frame after Kael Lumbert drove in two with a double to tie it 5-5, and the Golden Eagles won their first section title in this sport since the 1991 team that was coached by Hal Steinback.
Tews also pitched a complete game, striking out seven. The Golden Eagles of Loomis were doubly inspired to win a championship after having to forfeit nine regular-season victories, tied to the ejection of a coach and an online submission clerical error to the governing body section office.
Del Oro is 15-18 officially, but plays like a 24-win team when it’s been on the field. The Golden Eagles have been led by LSU-bound senior catcher Masen Belding, who has eight home runs, 30 RBIs and 10 doubles. Tews leads the team with 11 doubles.
Both teams advance to the CIF NorCal playoffs.
Division III
Yuba City 8, Central Catholic 7 — The No. 3-seeded Honkers won their first section banner in 10 seasons and seventh overall in walk-off fashion in the ninth inning at Union Stadium.
Max Guth was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded as Yuba City stunned the Raiders of Modesto. Central Catholic eliminated two-time defending champion Oakmont in the semifinals.
For Yuba City, Zeke Garcia and Niko Ibarra each had two hits and an RBI; Eliaja Moncher had three hits and two RBIs; and Cesar Guizar had two hits to lead the 12-hit attack.
Yuba City ace Brandon Pelechowicz notched eight strikeouts through three innings and finished with 11 overall as Yuba City overcame 10 hits and eight walks.
Pelechowicz improved to 9-1 to go with a .505 batting average and 34 RBIs. Yuba City moved to 14-1 in its last 15 games, despite challenges and hurdles against Central Catholic, including overcoming a five-run deficit in the sixth inning.
Both teams advance to the CIF NorCal rounds.
Division V
Lincoln 6, Hughson 5 — Eli Duff and Dylan Knell each homered, and Jackson Cook pitched 5.1 innings, overcoming six walks and six hits to strike out seven as the Zebras of Placer County prevailed in a battle of top seeds at Islander Field in Lathrop.
That was the first home run of the season for Knell and just the second on the campaign for Duff, who quarterbacked the football team last fall to the playoffs. Knell is the No. 9 hitter who smashed a two-out, sixth-inning blast over the left-field fence for the top-seeded Zebras.
Lincoln (24-9) of the Pioneer Valley League won its first section banner since 2017 and fifth overall. The Zebras will be in the CIF NorCal playoffs.
Lincoln star Landyn Plaut, section-best 15 homers this season, earned the pitching victory with a relief sowing, getting out of a jam in the final inning.
Division VI
Woodland Christian 5, Bear River 1 — The Cardinals of Yolo County repeated as champions at Sacramento City College, scoring three runs in the first inning against the top-seeded Bruins of Lake of the Pines in moving to 26-6 overall with a nine-game winning streak.
Jayden Badhesha had two RBI, and twin brother Admaan Badhesha had an RBI for Woodland Christian. Jayden pitched six innings of three-hit ball with 11 strikeouts in moving to 8-0 on the season. His brother is the team’s catcher.
Woodland Christian will advance to the NorCal rounds. Bear River finished 19-8-1.
▪ Complete playoff brackets, statistics, schedules and ticket information are available via the CIF section website here.
This story was originally published May 23, 2025 at 1:16 PM.