St. John Bosco baseball wins second straight CIF championship
St. John Bosco players celebrate after defeating Norco in the CIF Division 1 baseball championship game at Cal State Fullerton on Friday. St. John Bosco defeated Norco 2-0. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
FULLERTON – The St. John Bosco Baseball team, with a near-perfect pitching performance from senior right hander Julian Garcia, won its second CIF-Southern Section DI Championship in a row with a 2-0 win over Norco Saturday (May 30).
The title game victory, played at Cal State Fullerton’s Goodwin Field, was the 15th consecutive post season win for the Braves which started in the CIF State playoffs two years ago.
“Man, we won our second CIF Division I Championship in a row,” said Bosco coach Andy Rojo, as his players celebrated behind him on the field.
“That makes 15 games in a row for us.
“We knew we were going to have to battle, with that outstanding Norco pitcher Jordan Ayala, we just knew we were going to have to take advantage of some opportunities.”
Both pitchers went seven innings, as Ayala struck out 10 batters and allowed three hits.
However, Garcia allowed just a first-inning double while striking out 14 in the game. He struck out three batters in that first inning and retired the final 20 batters in the game after the double. Five of those innings, he struck out two batters.
“I usually go out a little slow in the first inning, but once I get it going it gets a little better,” said Garcia, who is going to Long Beach State College. “I just missed on one pitch and that’s the hit they got.
“I always know the guys play 110% every time they come out on the field. We’re the best team in the nation.”
Garcia’s previous games he had 12 and 13 strikeouts, respectively.
“My mom told me I better get 14 today or I wasn’t going to get a ride home (Saturday),” said Garcia, with a big smile. “This is division one baseball and this is the game you want to be in and we want to go out with a win. They (mom and dad) are both at all of my games.”
Asked about Garcia, Rojo said with a big smile, “Oh my God, Julian Garcia, what an amazing athlete. I don’t know how many strikeouts, what 14, 15 strikeouts. It’s just unbelievable what he did. What can you say.”
This amazing three-year run by the Braves started after a tough 2023 season when they were under the .500 mark (10-18) and finished in last place in the Trinity League with a 1-14 record. The last time Bosco was in the playoffs was 2017 when they lost in the D2 semifinals.
Garcia, who has been on varsity all four years, was a part of that 2023 team, saw the complete change the next season.
In 2024, enter coach Rojo, who had previously worked for many years for USA Baseball in Carey, North Carolina, and his staff for the upcoming season.
That season, they finished fourth in the Trinity League (6-9) and were 23-11 overall and they lost seven of their final regular season games to limp into the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
They came alive in the playoffs winning the first four games to get to the DI final against Beckman. It was their first finals appearance in school history.
Unfortunately, Beckman won on a walk-off in the eighth inning. The Braves had a second life as they were invited to the CIF State playoffs.
Garcia, who was on the mound for that walk-off loss, missed the next season due to elbow surgery.
They reeled off three straight wins for a state title and kept their playoff streak alive last season with five victories to win their first CIF title over league rival Santa Margarita, 3-2, in walk-off fashion. The Braves finished with a 30-win season (30-4), which included their second consecutive state title and also a Trinity League Championship.
They repeated as league champs this year with a 14-1 record and finished with an overall record of 27-6.
Braves defeat Norco, 2-0, for CIF title
As for the championship game, hits were at a minimum, but the Braves took advantage of two opportunities. One run in the fifth inning and one run in the sixth inning.
With Garcia sailing along, retiring 12 out of 13 Norco batters, which included 10 in a row, and the score 0-0, the Braves took a 1-0 lead in the fifth.
Senior first baseman Moises Razo led off with a single to left. He advanced to second on a wild pitch from Ayala and was followed by a walk to senior left fielder Noah Everly.
After an out, both runners advance to second and third on a passed ball. The first run came across on a sacrifice fly by senior centerfielder Miles Clark. Clark, along with his twin brother James Clark will be playing next season at Duke University.
After another 1-2-3 inning by Garcia, the Braves came right back with a second run the next inning.
Sophomore catcher Aaron Garcia was hit by the pitch to open the sixth inning. Two outs later, senior third baseman Jack Champlin hit a long triple off the wall to left field, scoring Garcia for the 2-0 lead.
“It was a roller coaster of emotions and Jordan (Ayala) has some legit stuff and he is really good and his slider I think is MLB level,” said Champlin, who is headed to UC Irvine. “He gave us fits (Saturday) and we were able to capitalize on some pitches when we needed to.”
Champlin, who has a routine of giving Garcia a Gummie Bear to put in his pocket before the games he pitches, said of the big 6-3 right hander, “He is a workhorse. He can really get into it. He missed last year and had surgery and wasn’t able to play and was sidelined. This game meant so much to him and he had so much adrenalin. I’m just so proud of him.”
Norco went out quietly in the final two innings with four strikeouts by Julian Garcia.
“It wasn’t going to be a game with a lot of runs and balls being hit really hard on both sides,” said Rojo, who is in his third year at the helm. “(St. John Bosco) just took advantage of some opportunities and was able to capitalize.”
Bosco loses to Cathedral Catholic, 4-2 in CIF State
Senior second baseman Jaden Jackson (2 for 3, R, SB) and James Clark (2 for 4, R, Tpl., RBI) led with two hits each in the game.
Cathedral Catholic was led by left fielder Joshua Priest with three hits (3 for 4), while center fielder Hunter Harrington had two hits (2 for 4, R, RBI, Dbl.).
Bosco sophomore Troy Sibolboro started the game for the Braves and gave up four hits and one run over three innings, while striking out four and walking one.
In the second inning with two outs, junior right fielder Will Blanton doubled and came home on a single by senior catcher Evan DePodesta for the 1-0 lead.
In the next inning, Bosco took its first and only lead of the game with to runs.
Jackson opened the inning with a single to right, followed by a triple to right, scoring James Clark. Champlin followed with a run-scoring single bringing Clark home for the 2-1 lead.
That was the end of the scoring for the Braves, who left six runners on base over the next four innings, five of which were in scoring position.
Cathedral, which was the runner-up in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division playoffs, took the lead for good in the fifth. Hunter Harrington doubled home his brother Alex Harrington to tie the game, 2-2. The tie-breaker came on a two-run single by senior first baseman Ty Daniels, scoring Hunter Harrington and senior third baseman Trey Kotsay for the 4-2 lead.
However, the Braves had their chances in the sixth and seventh innings. Miles Clark and senior right fielder Jhett Ohira were left on base at second and third in the sixth and bases were left loaded in the seventh.
What they said:
Andy Rojo, Coach: “We have an incredible group of 15 seniors. Tremendous athletes, fierce competitors. There were some tough plays out there (Saturday). What can I say. They just have this fierce will to win.”
Jack Chaplin, senior third baseman: “There’s so many good things about this team. We played some really good teams this year. Norco beat us earlier in the year (3-2) and we came out here (Saturday) with some vengeance and the whole team pulled together and we wanted it bad.”
Julian Garcia, senior pitcher: “All of us talked before the start of the season and all came to an agreement that our goal was to win a CIF Championship in back-to-back years. It’s pretty special to be part of the team that made it to CIF three years in a row.”