Golden Valley clinches playoff berth with shutout against Buhach Colony in final game
Golden Valley High School junior Rohan Thiara admits he was a bit stressed prior to Thursday’s season finale.
It’s hard to blame the Cougars pitcher.
Thiara could have felt like the weight of the GV season was on his shoulders as he took the mound against Buhach Colony. Thursday’s winner extended their season by earning the Central California Conference’s third playoff berth.
The loser’s season was over.
Thiara rose to the occasion, tossing a two-hit shutout as Golden Valley (11-15 overall, 6-6 CCC) defeated Buhach Colony (12-14, 5-7 CCC) 3-0 to earn its first playoff appearance since 2019.
After the postgame handshake line, the Cougars went down the left-field line and let loose after earning the two-game sweep they needed of the Thunder in the final week.
“Nobody believed in us, I mean nobody believed in us so it means the world,” Thiara said. “We have so much fun together. We’ve gone on two big trips this year and we just had a blast. Now I hope we get to go on a few more.”
The Cougars battled their way back after a 2-4 start in CCC play.
“Whenever you’re playing for something on the last game it’s exciting,” said Golden Valley coach Greg Euker. “That hasn’t been the case the past couple of years for us. To be in that situation felt amazing.”
Thiara struck out five and didn’t walk a batter. He pitched around errors in the third and seventh inning to keep the Thunder bats silent as BC had only two runners reach scoring position all game.
Thiara retired 12 in a row until Buhach Colony’s Spencer Lantz reached on an error with one out in the seventh inning.
“At the end of the second inning, I got through the heart of the lineup and I didn’t allow any hits,” Thiara said. “I was dealing. My curveball was working, I was able to pin point with my fastball and they weren’t really picking up on the slider either and if they did I knew my defense was going to back me up.”
The game was played in a steady rain from the third inning on. The game was stopped briefly for a rain delay in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Thunder sophomore Erik Munoz went the distance and pitched well, however the Cougars got to the right-hander for three runs in the fourth inning.
Trevor Hath led off the fourth with a single for Golden Valley. Gera Gonzalez then dropped a bunt that Munoz fielded, but his throw to second was dropped setting up the Cougars with two runners on base with no outs.
Golden Valley senior catcher Owen Holmes started the game with designated hitter Dylan Williams hitting in his spot in the order. However, Euker inserted Holmes into the lineup in the fourth and he singled to right field to drive in Hath and Gonzalez to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead.
“To see him come through is just exciting to see because he had that big smile on his face because of what he did,” Euker said. “His smile comes because he cares so much about this team.”
The Cougars tacked on a third run in the inning after Koen Huepel broke for second base after Munoz attempted to pick him off first. Holmes broke for home and beat the throw to plate to give GV a 3-0 lead.
Thiara made the three-run lead stand up easily the rest of the way.
“Nothing seems to get to him,” Euker said. “Nothing bothers him, whether he’s throwing a no-hitter like he did early in the year or he’s given up a few hits, he’s pretty much the same guy. He always competes, throws a ton of strikes, he’s tough up on the mound and he showed that today.”
The Sac-Joaquin Section baseball playoff matchups will be announced on Saturday with the playoffs beginning on Tuesday.
