St. Mary's rams Rocklin in D1 title game

There were no tears, no sulking and no comforting hugs among Rocklin's players following Thursday night's 6-1 loss to St. Mary's in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship game at Sacramento City College. Instead, the Thunder all shared a look of frustration, determination and anger. Because Rocklin reached the championship game, the May 23 loss didn't mark the end of the road. The Thunder qualified for the CIF NorCal Regional and know they will live to fight another day. "We didn't get this one done, but we still have some things to do next week," Rocklin coach Matt Jones said. "They're pissed off, frustrated. I'm sure all those things are there, but I think the look is probably also a little focus and determination for next week." The Thunder struggled to hit against St. Mary's, as Washington commit Tanner Grove shut them down on the mound. Rocklin scored one run early but that would be all they could muster up with Grove amassing nine strikeouts and walking just one. He pitched a four-hitter. "He got into a rhythm and he was pounding the zone the whole game. I don't know if there's anything specific that made him so tough," Jones said. "He located his fastball, located his off-speed pitches, his slider was really good and so was his changeup. When you're playing the game, sometimes you just get beat by a good pitcher." Rocklin turned the ball to junior Daniel Panteloglow to start, a decision Jones said wasn't easy. "It was a tough call. We had three options of who to start today and everybody was pretty well rested," Jones said. "I thought that Daniel had such a phenomenal season and had consistently played well all year long with some big wins coming over the last few weeks." Panteloglow kept the Rams scoreless through two innings but St. Mary's jumped on him in the third and fourth, scoring three runs in each inning to take a 6-1 lead. The Thunder turned to Jesse Cuthill in relief, and he pitched three scoreless innings, striking out four while allowing two hits. "Jesse came in and just kind of gave them a different look and pounded the zone and threw his slider early in the count. He was really good," Jones said. "Those guys did a good job against us with two strikes." The CIF NorCal Regional brackets are released Sunday with the tournament beginning Tuesday. Jones reminded his team there is still more baseball to be played and they still have achievable goals in front of them. "Our goal all year long was to win three things: a league championship, a section championship and a regional championship," Jones said. "We still have a chance to win two out of those three. That is our main focus moving forward."