M&Ms: Del Oro teammates Malbrough, Martinez get summer intro to college baseball

Del Oro High School seniors Asa Martinez and Quincy Marlbrough were the captains of the Golden Eagle baseball team in the spring and were standouts in the Sierra Foothill League. Since graduation, the duo has spent their summer in the Bay Area Collegiate League. Their first summer of college baseball wraps up this week in Lincoln, as they are playing together with the West Coast Kings and vying for a West Coast World Series championship. Martinez and Marlborough have been instrumental to the Kings' success so far, as they find themselves in the winners' bracket final. "It's awesome getting to finish my summer here," Marlbrough said of the significance of playing at McBean Stadium. "I grew up around here and at Potters games. My dad was a firefighter for the city of Lincoln. We'd always come out and watch games on this field." "It's pretty nice to get to play so close to home," Martinez said. "It's nice to go like 10 minutes down the street and come out here and play with a bunch of new guys, a lot of college guys, and give it my all right before I go to school." Marlbrough, who will play baseball at Folsom Lake College, went 2 for 3 with two RBIs in the Kings' tournament-opening win over the Alameda Anchors on Tuesday. He also drew a pinch-hit walk in Wednesday's 10-2 win over Team Philippines. Marlbrough said the biggest adjustment to the collegiate game has been playing nine innings instead of seven-inning high school games. He said his confidence has skyrocketed from playing this summer and he feels he's ready to show he belongs at the collegiate level. "The biggest thing now is having confidence. I keep letting myself know that I belong on the field with these high-level guys," Marlbrough said. "Thankfully, playing in the SFL with a lot of really good competition set me up nicely for this high level of play." Martinez has also been adjusting well to the collegiate level, and it has shown at the West Coast World Series. Martinez put the exclamation point on Wednesday's win with a towering walk-off two-run homer that enforced the run rule in the sixth inning. Martinez will attend Saint Mary's and play catcher for the Gaels. He spoke about his first summer of college baseball and agreed with Malbrough that the biggest adjustment was playing nine-inning games rather than seven. "It was a lot different going into a nine-inning game, but I picked it up really quick and got a lot of experience learning from a lot of older guys," Martinez said. "So it was pretty cool to get out here with the Kings and just compete all summer." Martinez also spoke about what it will take for the Kings to win their second West Coast World Series, as the team is two wins away from claiming their second championship. "We have to continue our teamwork. There are a lot of new guys here and a lot of guys that don't know each other," Martinez said. "We need to keep learning from each other and keep playing as a team and we have a shot." Malbrough drove one run home for the Kings Thursday night in a 7-5 loss to the AE Express. West Coast plays Friday at 1:05 p.m. in the loser's bracket final against the Alameda Anchors with the winner taking on the Express at 6:05 for the West Coast World Series championship.