Arroyo Grande’s baseball team loses heartbreaker in CIF sectional final
Seeking to secure a Division 2 CIF-Central Section title, Arroyo Grande’s baseball team lost a heartbreaker 4-3 in the 9th inning to Bakersfield Christian.
The Eagles (24-9) had won 10 in a row coming into the contest, and held their own at 3-3 at Valley Strong Ballpark in Visalia, scoring the tying run on a wild pitch after a last-ditch rally started by a leadoff single in the top of the seventh by Jackson Ralph.
Arroyo Grande was led offensively by Jones Stumph and Ralph, who each had two hits in the contest, as well as a key RBI double by Ruben Servin to temporarily give Arroyo Grande a one-run lead.
Arroyo Grande starting pitcher Grady Pope threw four innings, striking out three, and allowing one earned run.
Reliever Zack Johnson pitched a strong four innings, giving up only one earned run, a walk-off hit by Bakersfield Christian (25-6-1) for the win and on-field dogpile celebration.
“I’m very proud of boys,” said Arroyo Grande Coach Steve Tolley. “This team, the entire year, they never gave up, and they did it against a really, really good high school baseball team (in Bakersfield Christian).”
Eagles junior shortstop Ruben Servin, hitting a team-high .479 on the season, smashed a go-ahead RBI double in the third inning off Ole Miss commit McCoy Silicz, whose fastball tops out at 94 miles per hour. That put Arroyo Grande up 2-1 at the time.
The Eagles had four hits in the third inning, including a bunt single from Anders Winter and a double by Ralph.
A base running pickoff in the top of the third and an error in center on a ball under the glove of the outfielder in the bottom of the fourth came back to haunt the Eagles, who were the road team.
“We talked about, at the beginning of season, that a couple little mistakes (can be costly), and they are magnified in championship games, and that’s what happened,” Tolley said. “I’m proud of the way these kids played to only give up four runs to a team that’s full of Division-1 commits. We pitched well, and we did a lot of things well.”
Arroyo Grande will move on to the CIF state playoffs with an automatic bid. The schedule is yet to be announced.
This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 9:41 PM.
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