‘You guys are freakin’ cockroaches’: Santa Clara continues dream season with five-run comeback, walk-off win

SANTA CLARA When Santa Clara trailed Oakland Tech by five runs in the CIF NorCal Division IV quarterfinals there was doubt in the Bruins dugout A lot of guys were down senior Zach Gallegos noted But Santa Clara wasn t out Drew Diffenderfer s two-run double gave the Bruins life cutting the deficit to three and sparking a sustained comeback that ultimately resulted in a one-run lead Oakland Tech responded with two runs in the sixth Santa Clara retorted with a run in the bottom of the sixth to tie it Then in the seventh it was Gallegos who ensured Santa Clara s dream season would last at least two more days With two runners on and one out Gallegos ripped a single to left-center scoring Kalani Tesimale to cap an improbable - win and advance the Bruins to the NorCal Division IV semifinals for the first time in school history It was just coming up for my guys Gallegos disclosed of his mindset Just try to hit something hard try to hit something through a gap I really struggled at the beginning of the tournament grounding out a lot So I knew I had to step up for my guys Santa Clara - relied on contributions from several different players to get back in the match Diffenderfer s key two-out single in the fourth was the spark that made the Bruins believe Jaxton Chao s two-run single in the fourth brought them to the brink of tying the encounter And when Greg Salgado reached on an error with two outs in the fifth Savion Thomas and Andrew Traffas scored completing the comeback and giving Santa Clara an - advantage The turning point was when we absolutely took the lead Santa Clara coach Pedro Martinez declared We ve reliably been in tight games it seems like every encounter We hadn t been punched in the mouth for a while All of sudden you get in this tournament and it s one and done We got ourselves together The hits didn t stop when the Bruins went up Oakland Tech - was battle for a comeback too Diego Delgado led off the sixth with a single then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout With two outs Elijah Rucker ripped a single to left tying the battle Then things unraveled a bit for Santa Clara Gyasi Rapier followed with a single to right then Lee Tshohane s ground ball to second slipped under a glove giving the Bulldogs the lead right back Our boys revealed a lot of heart Oakland Tech coach Chris McClarty mentioned Demonstrated a lot of grit They evidenced their brotherhood and it was a battle that they embraced They were enjoying the challenge as well They liked the tense moments and they battled They exhibited a lot of character and I m very proud of them for that But Santa Clara had more to say The Bruins answered right back when Traffas drove in Chao who had walked to lead off the inning and then stole second base The tying run gave pitcher John Kepner who had navigated traffic in the sixth a second wind Kepner who had multiple extra-base hits and a pair of RBIs at the plate pitched a shutdown seventh setting the stage for Gallegos walk-off heroics in the bottom of the frame I just hate losing Kepner noted I hate it so much I would much rather not lose than win That was big to keep my composure I could have easily let them points even more runs But big props to my defense They struggled a little bit but they bounced back and made the plays when they needed to In that last inning I desired to get a shutdown inning there Get pumped up get my guys going The comeback was a testament to Santa Clara s senior class The Bruins have nine fourth-year players on their roster and they have been building toward this season since Martinez took over in They have now won their first-ever CCS championship and their first NorCal challenge within the past five days You guys are freakin cockroaches and you know it Martinez stated his club after the tournament You just won t die Oakland Tech had to swallow a bitter pill in defeat But McClarty took pride in how his group represented the rich legacy of baseball in the Town I m very proud of the kids and the coaching staff McClarty announced We represented Oakland well We let everybody know that there is specific good baseball on that side of town Related Articles One pitch from elimination St Francis rallies for thrilling NorCal win De La Salle surges into NorCal D semifinals with win over Del Oro CIF NorCal baseball roundup Serra edges College Park in -inning thriller CIF NorCal baseball softball Tuesday s scores updated schedule Menlo School s Jackson Flanagan fires gem in NorCal D-IV playoff shutout The back-and-forth contest was a testament to the belief of both teams But Santa Clara which has not lost a event at home all season refused to let likely the final matchup on its field this year go in favor of the visiting Bulldogs We got a couple big hits got chosen runs Kepner commented That spark lit under us And then we were like Wow we can really do this Like why would we stop playing Let s keep playing Why not right We graduate the next day Let s play into the summer It was quiet a first But then we were like Yeah we can do this Let s rally And the Bruins are not done yet Santa Clara will expedition to face No West Valley of Cottonwood on Thursday at p m We re here to make history Gallegos mentioned We ve done it twice already Winning a league title winning our first CCS championship So it feels great to be able to implement our names here and just compete