The SRJC Bear Cubs baseball team finished the last week of conference play strong, winning three out of four games and propelling the team into the race for the state title.
With wins over American River, Consumnes River and Diablo Valley College, the Bear Cubs ended the regular season with a record of 22-13 overall and 14-10 in conference. The team tied Diablo Valley for second place in the Big 8 Conference and captured the eighth seed in the Northern California rankings of the California Community College Athletic Association tournament.
As the eighth seed, SRJC will host ninth seed Diablo Valley in the first round of the regional playoffs May 5-6 at SRJC’s Sypher Field.
In 2011, the Bear Cubs lost in the first round of playoffs, but this time the odds are in SRJC’s favor. The Bear Cubs took three out of four games from Diablo Valley this season, including an 11-2 win on April 28.
The team also features a trio of starting pitchers that have been the backbone of SRJC’s success and ranks among the best in the conference. Out of 50 ranked pitchers in the Big 8, Matt Nadolski ranks fourth in earned run average (1.50), Jason Alexander fifth in strikeouts (64) and Bryan Webster fourth in wins (5). Each has come off tremendous starts, most notably Webster who threw a complete game shutout against American River April 24.
In addition, the Bear Cubs have had success at the plate with huge contributions from utility infielder Patrick Moniez and outfielders Siosi Poti, Ryan Xepoleas and Stephen McElroy, who stepped in when starting right fielder Dalton Johnson suffered a season-ending injury.
Even with the team’s recent string of success, the Bear Cubs will have to watch out for Diablo Valley pitcher Nick Pasquale, who ranks among the conference leaders in wins (11), ERA (1.35) and strikeouts (67). Pasquale kept the Bear Cubs off balance for nine innings, in a 4-1 win March 29.
The best of three games series will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, followed by an 11 a.m. game Sunday. A third game will take place Sunday, 30 minutes after the end of game 2, if necessary.
For more information including team stats, please visit www.cccbca.com or the Athletics page on www.santarosa.edu.