Vicente leads Tigers to Nor-Cal finale, Roseville beats Fowler, 8-2

John Vicente, otherwise known as "Big John" is not 6-5, 245 pounds as his walkup songs says, but he swung a big stick on Friday. Vicente had three hits, including a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth inning, to power Roseville to an 8-2 win over Fowler in the semifinal round of the CIF Northern Regional Division III playoffs. Roseville will host Rancho Cotate Saturday at 4 p.m. in the championship game. Vicente's slam increased Roseville's lead to a more comfortable 8-0, which made Fowler's two runs scored in top of the fifth inning significantly less threatening. "It was a long at bat; I fouled off a lot of breaking balls," Vicente said. "I just stayed on the fastball and I got one on the last pitch and I was able to get a hold of it. "It feels amazing and fantastic to hit a grand slam and see all my guys get up in the dugout and with my parents in the stands watching, it's a great feeling." Roseville coach Eli Garcia loved watching Vicente's at bat. "That was one of my favorite at bats," Garcia said. "He had two strikes on him and he just kept fouling pitches off. We call those greedy at bats. He finally got a pitch to hit and he got a hold of it." Roseville's first three runs of the game were gifts from Fowler's starting pitcher Euraiya Morelos and relief pitcher Kade Monis, as Morelos lost the strike zone in the second inning. Vicente led off the inning with a single and then Morelos walked four straight batters, the last two, Ashton Chang and Jayden Quick, forcing runs to cross the plate. Three batters later, Monis walked Jacob Welch, as Roseville took a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, Roseville loaded the bases again, as Kyle Pettersen hit an infield single and Ben Jordan followed with a double before Welch was hit by a pitch. Colton Wolfe reached on an error, allowing Pettersen to score, before Vicente followed with his grand slam, putting Roseville up 8-0. Roseville sophomore Ethan Gustus, meanwhile, pitched the first four innings and allowed two hits and three hits but struck out eight. In the second inning, Fowler's first two batters reached before Gustus struck out the side. In the third inning, Fowler walked the leadoff man before striking out the side. In the fourth inning, his last, Gustus put two runners on base with two outs before he got the next hitter to pop out to Wolfe at first base to end the inning. "Ethan was a big part of our rotation last year," Garcia said. "This year, he was a little banged up and we didn't have him for two-thirds of the season. Coming into the season, he was going to be one of our guys, but injuries sort of prevented that. "We have total confidence in him. He's a competitor. The thing about Ethan is that he puts in a lot of work into his craft. Kudos to him; he threw a lot of strikes and he ended up throwing really well." Dustin Holcomb, Cyrus Young and Wolfe took turns on the mound to finish off the game. Now the big Nor-Cal championship game is tomorrow. "I didn't even know Nor-Cals was a thing at the beginning of the season; I thought we just ended at sections," Vicente said. "It's been a great ride and the last couple of games have been amazing. "We're playing really well right now. I think the best thing is that we're sticking together, and that's going to be key tomorrow. Everyone has the stick together the whole game. The dugout has to stay up, and we have to pick our guys up if we make mistakes. I like our chances tomorrow." Garcia added, "We're not satisfied because obviously the job's not done. These boys have been grinding since last year. Last year we didn't make the playoffs. It's pretty much the same team this year as we had last year. We have a sour taste in our mouths since we missed the playoffs, but kudos to the boys. They've grinded their tails off. They've earned everything that they've gotten so far."