Rocklin continues turnaround with 8-4 rivalry win over Whitney

After an 0-8-1 start to the season, the Rocklin High School baseball team has turned a corner over the last few weeks. The Thunder claimed their first Sierra Foothill League series win against Del Oro two weeks ago, followed it with a strong spring break tournament showing, and on Tuesday kept the momentum rolling with an 8-4 win over rival Whitney in the opener of a key three-game SFL set. For Rocklin coach Matt Wells, the early record never told the full story. "We had very inexperienced guys," Wells said. "We have good players, but they were pretty inexperienced. That early season was just a matter of us becoming varsity players instead of inexperienced varsity players." That growth continued to show Tuesday. Behind four shutout innings from Connor Kostecki, another spark-filled day from Ryan Lujan, and a four-run seventh inning, Rocklin won for the sixth time in its last eight games and continued to climb back into the league race. For a team that spent the opening weeks searching for confidence, Tuesday looked like another sign the floodgates may finally be open. "We got that first one, and yeah, we're playing well, and we're going now," Wells said. "I do feel like this group is way better than the record that we had at the time." Lujan once again sparked the offense from the jump. The Rocklin junior ripped a first-inning triple and scored on a wild pitch for the game's opening run, then came home the same way again in the third to make it 2-0. He added an RBI single in the fifth as part of a 3-for-4 day with two runs scored, continuing what Wells called one of the most dangerous bats in the area. "Every time he comes up, you kind of just feel like, boy, he's going to hit the ball hard right here," Wells said. "He's got to be one of the most offensive guys in the area, for sure." Rocklin stretched the lead to 4-0 in the fifth, with Travis Evans driving in a run, before Whitney answered with two in the bottom half to stay within striking distance. The Wildcats were able to muster up some offense in the late innings, but Rocklin's cushion was too large thanks in part to Kostecki's strong start on the mound. Making the move into the series-opening role, the right-hander delivered four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out three. His changeup gave Whitney trouble throughout, and his ability to pound the zone helped Rocklin settle in early. "I just wanted to throw strikes," Kostecki said. "I got a great defense behind me. The changeup was working today, just trying to pitch backwards a lot and keep the hitters off balance." The Wildcats clawed within 4-2 after five, but Rocklin responded like a team no longer rattled by momentum swings. The Thunder broke it open with four runs in the top of the seventh, creating the separation they needed before Whitney answered with two late runs. Colby Cobb and Cody Simmons each drove in two, while Rocklin's disciplined at-bats produced seven walks and constant traffic. After opening winless through nine games, the Thunder are suddenly back in the thick of the SFL title race, and Wells believes the preseason expectations that once seemed distant are back within reach. "Our goal was to go into that last week of the season with a shot to win our third straight league championship," Wells said. "I think we're within striking distance of that." Kostecki sees the same thing from inside the dugout. "I think the team got more together," he said. "We started fielding the ball better, started hitting with runners in scoring position, and things just started to click. We knew it would come around." The Thunder (6-10-1, 3-4 SFL) will host Whitney (7-9, 4-3 SFL) on Wednesday in hopes of closing out the series. Game three will be Thursday at Whitney.