Menlo School falls in CIF Northern California Division III baseball finals

With the ball carrying to left field, and a distance of 301 feet down the line, all four of Roseville’s runs came by way of home runs to left. Sophomore Ben Jordan connected for a two-run shot in the first, followed by solo homers by junior Preston Cubbler in the second and senior cleanup batter Ashton Chang in the fifth.

“It was a dogfight,” Menlo manager David Trujillo said. “It’s been a dogfight the whole postseason. And we knew we were coming into the lion’s den. Great crowd, unbelievable crowd, atmosphere — that’s where we want to be. It’s just a tough one. Three big hits. Three big results. We had plenty of opportunities, we just couldn’t get anything rolling.”

Prior to Saturday, the Knights had out-homered teams 26-6 this season, including a Peninsula Athletic League-leading 10 home runs from senior catcher Chuck Wynn. Roseville’s three homers ties a single-game program record since BBCOR bats were instituted by the National Federation of State High Schools in 2012.

The last time the Tigers totaled three home runs in a game was April 16, 2012, at home, against Rocklin.

“We’ve been a very small-ball, west-coast, old-school kind of style,” Roseville manager Eli Garcia said. “But, credit to our boys, they were able to just get on some pitches. I’m sure they were looking for strikes, and they were able to get ahold of it.”

Had it not been for an outstanding catch by Menlo left fielder William Larson — who brought back a ball from over the wall off the bat of Roseville senior Devin Johnson to end the first inning — the Tigers would have set the modern single-game home run record outright.

Menlo (22-11) jumped out to a quick lead in the top of the first with the help of three Roseville errors in the inning. Senior Jack Freehill then delivered an RBI single to knock in Zach Roeder, to put the Knights up 1-0. But Roseville answered right back against Menlo starting pitcher Jackson Flanagan, with a leadoff single from senior Justin Fischer and a booming two-run home run from Jordan, his fifth of the year.

But with two outs, Johnson connected for a shot to deep left field that looked destined to land in the bed of a pickup truck full of Roseville fans just beyond the left-field wall, when the 6-5 sophomore Larson leapt up to bring it back with a highlight-reel grab.

“Off the bat, I thought it was going to be gone, just because of how a few of those other ones went before it,” said Freehill, who had the best look at it from the shortstop position. “Then Larson went up and made a huge play. This game, it’s a completely different game if he didn’t catch that. So, he really gave us some momentum there and sparked the team.”

But Roseville kept adding on.

The bottom of the Menlo order had a chance to set the table in the second inning, but the Tigers’ defense came to play as well. Jordan, the Roseville shortstop, took a single away from Larson to lead off the second with a rangy backhanded pick and a long one-hop throw across the diamond. Renner Barnett followed with a single down the right-field line, but was thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double by the Roseville right fielder Johnson.

In the bottom of the second, Cubbler led off with a solo homer to put Roseville up 3-1. Flanagan retired the next two batters on fly outs, but the Tigers then loaded the bases, forcing Menlo to summon sophomore ace Reid Plamondon from the bullpen.

“The plan was to have Flanagan go for two innings, but it’s not every day you can shove,” Wynn said. “Reid came in and shoved. He gave up one run, but we need to back him up with some run support.”

Pitching in a fourth consecutive game for Menlo, and his third in the Nor Cal tournament, Plamondon went on to close it out, working 4 1/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out seven.

“Can’t say enough,” Trujillo said. “He texted me [Friday] night saying: ‘I’m ready to go. I feel good.’ We knew he had some innings left. You never want to push it, but he’s feeling good and we rolled with our guy. So, he kept us in the game and we had a chance, just couldn’t get it done.”

Menlo cut the deficit to 3-2 in the top of the third when Freehill drew a two-out walk, and moved to second on a wild pitch. Then Wynn drove him home with an RBI single to left.

The only blemish on Plamondon’s day came in the bottom of the fifth, when Chang turned on an outside fastball and was able to keep it fair down the left-field line for a solo home run to make it 4-2.

“It was a really good pitch, it was a really good cutter,” Trujillo said. “I don’t know how that kid hooked it, but it happens.”

Menlo had its best chance for a comeback rally in the sixth, but was denied by a diving catch in left field by Chang.

Wynn led off the frame getting hit by a pitch. Cleanup hitter Liam Widner then switched places with him after Roseville nearly turned a double play on a soft grounder to the left side of the infield, but Widner beat out the back end with a bang-bang call at first.

Junior Matthew Majalya followed with a sinking liner to left, but Chang — who started the day at catcher to handle his twin brother, senior starting pitcher Austin Chang, but moved to left when the Tigers went to their bullpen after Wynn’s RBI single in the third — raced toward the line to make a headlong diving catch to rob Majalya of extra bases, and deny Menlo getting the tying run into scoring position.

“The crazy part is, he’s made plays like that all year,” Garcia said. “So, we weren’t really surprised by it. This guy’s like Superman. He’s just flying for ball and going out and tracking them.”

The defensive gem had a big ripple effect as Larson followed by reaching on a dropped popup to shallow center, putting runners at the corners with two outs. But Roseville reliever Dustin Holcomb worked out of the jam with an inning-ending strikeout.

Senior right-hander Tyler Ritter — an NCAA Division I commit to UC Davis — set down the side in order in the seventh to close it out Roseville’s first Nor Cal championship in program history. The Tigers reached the Division III regional championship game last season as the No. 1 seed, but fell 2-1 to Rancho Cotate in the finals.

“The amount of toughness this group had, and falling short, and just us being able to overcome from that we wanted to be able to finish the job this year,” Garcia said. “So, I just feel, coming in from that, we had a really good group and we had a really good shot at taking it all, and we ended up doing it.”

For Menlo, the loss ends an era for four seniors — Freehill, Wynn, Barnett and Flanagan — who have played in three straight Nor Cal championship games.

“I’ve taken pride in it after every single game, after every single year,” Wynn said. “With it coming to an end, I’m sure it will settle in in a week or two. But, yeah, it’s been a hell of a ride, and I wouldn’t have wanted it with anybody else but these guys.”

The Knights have climbed the CIF ladder quickly in Trujillo’s three years running the program. In 2024, Menlo fell in the Nor Cal Division V finals 3-2 to Woodland Christian. Last season, the Knights claimed the Nor Cal Division IV championship with a 2-1 win over Santa Clara.

“I hope [they appreciate their legacy] because they earned it,” Trujillo said. “They earned it, and they deserve it. So, I really do hope so. I’m sure it stings a lot, because we always want to win. But what they’ve accomplished in the last three years is pretty unbelievable. So, compliments to them, and hats off to those guys. I hope it stings a little bit and then they get over it, and they realize how special they are.”