Designated hitter Jarret Martin tied BC’s home run record of 11 in one season in the fourth inning against Citrus April 30 in the Renegades’ final game of the season at the Dean and Adah Gay Sports Complex.
Martin went 5-for-6, with two doubles and two singles with three RBI’s, as BC (13-27-1, 11-17 in Western State Conference) rolled 16-3 over second-place Citrus.
BC head coach Tim Painton was proud of Martin’s progression in his first season with the Renegades and the record-tying home run. “It’s a big accomplishment. He put together a really solid second half of the season offensively. His first half wasn’t very good. He made some adjustments offensively, and he’s a kid with [an] awful lot of power, and we’re happy for him. That’s not an easy record to go after and tie.” Sean Barker was the last Renegade to tie the BC home run record in 2000, and G.W. Keller set the record in 1988.
Martin said about his home run, “It was nice. I had kind of a monkey on my back past few games kind of thinking about it. When I hit it, I personally didn’t think it was going to go out. It was high, and it got up in the air and blew out. I was happy.”
Martin noted that Jeremy Gonzales was fatigued prior to the game but pitched his last start for the Renegades.
“He had a sore hamstring today and still went out there and did pretty good. He’s very consistent. We’re going to miss him out here.”
Gonzales threw six innings against Citrus, struck out three and gave up only one run on four hits.
Gonzales said about his last outing against Citrus, “I feel pretty good . I calmed down a little bit, started to throw more strikes, started to find the zone. It was my last start, so I was a little hopped up.”
The BC sophomore reflected about his time at BC.
“I’m glad I came here. It’s probably the best thing I did. Coach Painton did a good job, [I] learned a lot.”
Gonzales is in talks with UC Santa Barbara and other schools to transfer to and pitch for.
BC first baseman Art Charles went 3-for-6 with a two-run home run, two RBI’s and was walked three times.BC had a total of 22 hits and zero errors.
Painton was happy with the game as he said, “We had 22 hits, and we didn’t let them breathe. You don’t give an opponent much opportunity to get back into a game. I thought our hitters did a great job, up and down the line-up. There were a lot of guys that contributed to the offense.”
Painton added about defeating playoff-bound Citrus, “You don’t look at opponents. We just look at how we perform. I think our players should be happy or proud . at one point in the season in the season it didn’t look like we were going to get off the mat. If you win five out of your last six games, regardless of opponent or who it is, you [have] played well.”
BC defeated Citrus 12-1 on March 28. BC designated hitter Jarret Martin went 2-for-5 with two RBI’s but also struck out twice in the sixth and seventh innings.
Joe Ramirez had four RBIs, and Joey Walker pinch-hit for Sam Westendorf and had a RBI-double. Greg Fowler went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Painton added about how the game showed BC’s true offensive colors. “I feel like we’re playing the way I thought we would play all year,” said Painton.
“What the last couple weeks has really shown me is what this team is capable of doing. There are a lot of people returning, so hopefully they look at it the same way, and it’s something to build on,” added Painton.
When asked about the season, Painton responded when the team faced a tougher season since he took the head position 13 years ago,
“Never. This is the first time we’ve been through anything like this. You take from the season the positives that you can from it and try and build on it. We finished playing well toward the end of the season and try and take those things and build on those things and get to next year,” said Painton.
The last time BC had a defeated season was in 1987 when the Renegades finished with a record of 5-31.
Painton talked about BC players entering the Major League Baseball draft in June.
“My best guess is [Jarret] Martin will be drafted somewhere and [Marcos] Reyna will be drafted somewhere. I’m willing to bet that those two guys are drafted.”
Martin said about his decision between the MLB draft or returning to BC, “I don’t know. We’ll see how it goes. I’d love to come back here and play for BC, but you never know what happens in the draft.”
Martin added about his baseball offers and BC baseball.
“I had a scholarship at [Cal State] Fullerton last year out of high school, but I decided that going to BC was the best choice for me, [to] work with Coach Painton and the great program here I’ve always watched. I wanted to be here. It’s been a great experience. I’ve really gained a lot of confidence and grew up here. Coach Painton definitely helped me a lot. We’ll see how it goes next year.”
Martin was originally drafted as a pitcher by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2008 MLB draft in the nineteenth round but did not sign with the organization.
BC defeated L.A. Valley April 25, 8-5 and April 23, 13-4.
Martin hit two home runs in the April 23 game, which were his ninth and tenth on the season.
Martin said about the home runs, “The first one was nice. In the first inning to get something started is a good start for us. The second one, I had a guy on third base and the infield came in, and all I was trying to do was just get a fly ball for a sac (fly), and I hit it a little bit off the hands, and the wind kept going over and it worked out for us.”
Martin also pitched in the eighth inning as the left-hand pitcher walked one and struck out one.
“It’s been a while. I took off a little bit of time for an injury to my arm . [I] finally came back. It felt good.”
BC lost their second game against College of the Canyons 4-0. BC’s Greg Sanders pitched eight innings and struck out five, but BC.
Painton was pleased with the MRI results from BC catcher A.J. Day’s injury against West L.A. April 16 and was sympathetic for the BC sophomore catcher as he updated his injury.
“We got the results on the MRI, and there’s nothing torn, so that’s a positive thing. It’s unfortunate that as a sophomore, he ended up missing the last games.”
Painton added about Day’s future progression to play again.
“He’s got to go through rehab and try to get some range of motion. That’s the first part of the deal: to rehab. We’ll just have to see how long it takes to get him back to where he can throw baseball.”