Big third inning lifts Colfax over Ben Holt

With another postseason run underway, Colfax showed Wednesday why it's become a regular in the Sac-Joaquin Section baseball playoffs. After falling behind in the first inning, the fifth-seeded Falcons responded with a six-run third and never looked back, pulling away for an 8-3 win over No. 12 Ben Holt College Prep of Stockton in the first round of the Division VI playoffs. Colfax (11-14-1) advanced to host No. 13 Argonaut (9-14) in Friday's quarterfinals, moving within one victory of a third semifinal appearance in four seasons. "We've been fighting adversity this whole second half of the season," coach James McCabe said. "We'd show flashes, but it was hard to put full innings together. Today, that second time through the lineup, the boys saw the pitching and they just went banging." Ben Holt (17-12) struck first when Colton Berry ripped a two-out double off the left-field wall in the top of the first. For two innings, Colfax struggled to string together offense against starter Armando Flores. That changed in the third, as the Falcons sent 10 hitters to the plate and collected five hits, including three doubles, to flip the game. Cole Hudson delivered the biggest swing, driving a two-run double to center to put Colfax in front. Tyler McCabe followed with an RBI fielder's choice, and Jaimeson Rawlins, Mateo Smiley and Lucas Clark added consecutive run-scoring hits to stretch the lead to 6-1. It was the kind of offensive burst Colfax had been searching for. "It started with a great practice (Tuesday)," McCabe said of the crooked number. "These guys just wanted to swing it. That was the mindset coming in. We've got to be aggressive and trust it." Rawlins had another RBI double in the fourth that pushed the lead to 7-1. Colfax totaled 10 hits with Rawlins, Clark, Smiley and Jono Cleek each collecting two. Hudson and Rawlins drove in two runs apiece. The Bobcats made one final push in the sixth, scoring twice on RBI singles by Mykal Cerna and Jeremiah Drulias to cut the deficit to 7-3. But Colfax answered on Cleek's solo home run to right in the sixth. On the mound, sophomore Paolo O'Brien gave the Falcons exactly what they needed. The left-hander worked 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits and working around four walks while striking out six. Jaimeson Rawlins, the team's ace, closed the door with a clean inning of relief, part of a larger plan as the Falcons looked ahead to Friday. "We just wanted to get him some work in a playoff atmosphere," McCabe said. "He's a horse. We're going to rely on him heavily, and what he does is he fills up the zone, keeps pitch counts low and gives us a lot of options." Colfax's pitching depth, stellar defense and smart baserunning showed throughout. The Falcons didn't commit any errors and consistently made routine plays, something McCabe said is a point of emphasis. "We pride ourselves on defense and baserunning," he said. "Those little things like understanding situations and not forcing plays is stuff we work on every day. And these guys have played a lot of baseball. They know what the game calls for." It's also part of a bigger picture for the program. Colfax has made deep postseason runs a habit, and the expectation hasn't changed since McCabe took over. "It started with the foundation that was built here," McCabe said. "There's a tradition, and these guys know it. They come into every offseason expecting to be playing in games like this."