SAC baseball hosted the Glendale Vaqueros at Mazmanian field in game one of the 2025 California Community College Athletic Association regional finals in a best-of-three series on Friday, dominating them by 12 runs.
SAC is the No. 1 seed in the 3C2A bracket with an overall record of 41-6 and with a conference record of 22-2. The Vaqueros are the fifth seed with an overall record of 33-14-1.
From the first pitch, SAC came out aggressive and focused. SAC wasted no time jumping ahead, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning. They followed that with four more in the second and two more in the third, building a 9-0 lead before the Vaqueros could even get a hit.
“We came out swinging the bats,” said head coach John Knott. “I loved the way we came out, we scored three in the first, four in the second and two in the third.”
That early run support proved more than enough for SAC’s redshirt-sophomore pitcher Izeah Muniz (44), who delivered a stellar performance on the mound. Muniz (44) didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning and gave up just six total hits over seven innings of work. He mixed his pitches effectively and kept the Vaqueros batters off-balance all afternoon.
“Izeah Muniz (44) was great,” Knott said. “[He] commanded the zone and really silenced their bats.”
Offensively, SAC couldn’t be stopped. Freshman designated hitter Landon White (8), had an unforgettable night, hitting five with six at the plate and driving in four runs. His consistent contact and timely hits sparked SAC’s offense inning after inning.
Not far behind was sophomore first baseman Diego Ortiz (5), who went a perfect four for four hits at bat with three RBIs. Ortiz’s (5) presence in the middle of the lineup gave SAC additional firepower, as he came through in several key moments to extend the lead.
By the fifth inning, SAC had built a 10 point cushion. The Vaqueros finally got on the board in the top of the seventh with two runs driven in by Max Price and James Harrington. But any hopes of a comeback were short lived, as SAC responded with two more runs in the eighth before closing out the game in the ninth.
Freshman reliever Ethan Corral (11), pitched a clean ninth inning to seal the victory.
Despite the dominant win, Knott remained grounded, emphasizing that the series is far from over.
“We just went through a series where we won game one by a significant amount, lost game two, and barely won game three,” Knott cautioned.
“Tomorrow is a new day. We’ve got to be hungry, we’ve got to execute, and we’ve got to do the things that winning teams do.”
In game two, SAC punched their ticket to the state championship beating the Vaqueros 9-8. SAC will play their first game in the finals against the Sierra Wolverines May 24.