ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - The Laguna Creek Cardinals were not going to be timid. They jumped all over their first-round opponent in the Division Two CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Baseball Playoffs and defeated the Bella Vista Broncos at home 7-2. 

The Cardinals set an early tone with senior Ty Collum on the mound; he went on to pitch five solid innings to give the Cardinals their first playoff win at home. 

“Ty’s been a leader since his sophomore year for this program and he’s one of those guys that whenever we call on him, we know we’ve got an opportunity to win,” head coach Zachary Evans said. 

Evans said Collum carries a winning attitude and when he feels that, the rest of the teammates follow him and adopt this attitude. 

In the bottom of the first, the Cardinals started with a rally with their two-hitter, senior Jacob Halseth, who would spark many rallies, with him going 3-4. 

A Halseth single was followed by a walk to sophomore Ryan Eddy, then a hit by a pitch to senior Brendan Fitzgerald brought senior Brandon Low to the plate. He drove in two runs to open the scoring on a single. 

Halseth once again came up to the plate in the third inning and led off with a triple to open the floodgates for four more runs, which included an RBI single from Collum, senior Alex Parish, senior Quincy Bootay, and the Broncos were unable to turn a double play to plate a run. 

“We hit a lot yesterday and we’ve seen everybody, some really good teams throughout this season, a lot of good pitchers and we feel prepared and these guys show up prepared and feeling like we can compete with anybody,” Evans said. 

Despite the Cardinals not playing a playoff game since 2022, the 14 seniors on the team bring an experience that Evans said helped to win this first-round game. 

“It plays a huge role; it’s a big part of this team with eight seniors being starters. Half of them have been on varsity for three or four years so it’s everything because you lean on that experience and attitude with the way they carry themselves since it sets a tone,” Evans said. 

Although averaging almost 20 pitches per inning, Collum was getting outs. He surrendered singles here and there and only allowed two runs in the fourth but would end his day with five strikeouts, surrendering seven hits, with one earned run. 

With a lead like this, Evans was able to turn to senior left-handed pitcher Justin Mariano for the last two innings to surrender one hit and strike out two Bronco batters. 

The Cardinals celebrate at their home field after their playoff win. Photo by Alejandro Barron

The last out was recorded and was met with excitement, especially for Evans in this, his first playoff win in his coaching career, so he said it was extra special. 

“Stoked,” Evans said. “Laguna Creek Baseball has had its ups and downs, so to be a part of this up and be able to take this group and do something with them, it’s special and an amazing feeling.” 

The Cardinals went on to face the No. 1 seed Whitney Wildcats on May 9 in the quarterfinals. 

The Cardinals are no strangers to knocking out No. 1 seeds. In 2022 they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory as the No. 16 seed that defeated the No. 1 Woodcreek Timberwolves.

“Whitney is a phenomenal program; we’ve seen it year in and year out, and they’re always on the top for a reason, so we’re going to show up, play our game and compete in every aspect we can,” Evans said. 

Two days later, the Cardinals would go on to be knocked out of the playoffs after putting up a battle against the Wildcats but losing 5-4. 

A home run late in the game by MaxPreps 2023 section player of the year and University of Oregon signee Jax Gimenez put the Wildcats up, and that would seal the Metro League Champions' fate to end their year with a 21-6 overall record.