Extra special: Granite Bay wins third straight section championship

When Granite Bay’s Tim Ayers reached third base in the bottom of the 11th inning of Friday night’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship game, he was determined to score. A wild pitch gave Ayers his chance. He didn’t even wait for the signal from his coach. He decided it would be better to ask for forgiveness than permission and took off for home plate. The decision paid off, as Ayers narrowly beat the throw and slid safely into home plate to deliver No. 3 seed Granite Bay a 4-3 victory over No. 4 Elk Grove and third consecutive section championship. “I kind of gave myself permission to go there,” Ayers said. “I was so determined. I really wanted that win. I just saw the ball get passed the catcher and I just ran for it.” Longtime Granite Bay coach Pat Esposito isn’t the type to let his players call their own shots but thought he could find it in his heart to forgive Ayers for taking the initiative to score on the play. “Yeah, he’s forgiven,” Esposito said. “We were talking about wanting to be aggressive there. We were just hoping for a fly ball. We didn't even care how deep it was.” Although Ayres was still catching his breath after the game, it was not lost on him what his team had just accomplished. “It's sunk in already,” Ayres said. “Now it's a dynasty after winning three in a row. Now we're gonna go back for four. We're gonna go for that next year.” Granite Bay’s pitching staff stepped up, keeping Elk Grove (21-13) off the scoreboard despite loading the bases twice in extra innings. Elk Grove stranded the go-ahead run on third base three times in extra innings. “I thought our pitching staff did a great job,” Esposito said. “(Elk Grove) swung the bat well tonight, probably better than we did. Hats off to those guys because they were tough tonight but through 11 innings, our pitching staff did a great job.” Peter Caldera earned the win in relief, allowing two hits and walking two in three innings. Caldera picked up two strikeouts as well. He said he got out of the jams due to his previous experiences this season pitching in tight games with runners on base. “I was pretty comfortable, to be honest. I had two games earlier this year against Whitney and Franklin where I had to come in and chuck a couple of zeros up in extra innings,” Caldera said. “So I think that helped me the most and it really helped me get ready for today. Being mentally prepared is the biggest thing you can do.” Chase Bentley started for the Grizzlies (24-9) and had a strong outing, allowing two runs and four hits with eight strikeouts in six innings. Bentley’s biggest plays of the game came in the first and 10th innings, however. The Texas A&M commit blasted a two-run homer over the left-field fence in the first and made an unassisted double play in the 10th that helped Granite Bay get out of a bases-loaded jam. Caldera tipped his hat to Bentley for the play and noted it “was the biggest shift in momentum in the game, and I couldn't ask for a better first baseman. He's really the heart and soul of our team.” Asked what makes the team so special, Caldera said, “It's just amazing to be a part of this team. I think we have some of the best chemistry and when it comes down to it, we really perform when we need to, like you saw today. I think that's the best part about our team.” Esposito gave his team high praise for the grit and resilience they showed throughout the season. “I'm proud of these guys who did a great job all year,” Esposito said. “We won the Boras (Classic) and played for the state championship of that tournament. These guys have done everything you can possibly think of. These seniors will never forget this year and to cap it off, they got this game tonight.” The season is not over for the Grizzlies, as they now await their draw for the CIF NorCal Regional Tournament. The brackets will be released on Sunday with the first round beginning Tuesday.