Revenge always seems to find its moment.
Sometimes it takes days. Sometimes months. Sometimes years.
For St. Mary’s, it took 364 days.
And the Rams made sure it was worth the wait.
In the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship game, No. 1 St. Mary’s delivered payback in the coldest way possible, holding No. 3 Franklin to just two hits in a 2-0 win Friday, May 22, at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium.
The victory marked the program’s sixth section championship, adding to titles in 1989, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2024.
“I’m just really glad we get to catch these dubs for Stockton,” senior catcher Maddox Rabara said. “We’ve done a lot to get here. We’ve worked hard. We’ve put in early mornings to late evenings. To finally have it pay off is really special.”
On May 23, 2025, these same teams met in this same championship game as the same seeds.
Franklin won.
“Two years ago it was fun,” coach Jason Lindholm said. “Last year was not fun on the way home, but this year will be really fun.”
A big reason why was Mississippi State signee Dax Hardcastle. The St. Mary’s ace delivered a complete-game gem, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out 12.
“When we have Dax — or really any of our starters — on the mound, we don’t think we’re going to lose,” Lindholm said. “That’s how we felt today. I never thought we were going to lose at any point.”
Hardcastle added, “I know that if I throw it in the zone, my stuff’s good enough that they’re going to miss it.”
Still, Hardcastle needed some help.
With St. Mary’s limited to just three hits, Rabara provided the biggest swing in the sixth.
Facing two outs, two strikes and runners on second and third, the senior catcher ripped a two-RBI double down the left-field line for the game’s only runs.
“I was just trying to hit them where they’re not,” Rabara said. “I’m really glad I saw that pitch and was able to hit it, because they had the shift on the right side, so I was able to pull the ball a little bit and score those runs.”
Other than that, shortstop Dylan Patten and left fielder Gino Lovotti had St. Mary’s only other hits, coming in the second and third innings, respectively.
“I think there still is a bigger ceiling for these kids,” Lindholm said. “But they just keep battling and battling and battling. That’s what they’ve been doing all year long.”
‘I had everything working’
After throwing 6 2/3 innings, 110 pitches, allowing one earned run, striking out 12 and giving up just three hits in St. Mary’s winner-take-all semifinal against Granite Bay days earlier, Hardcastle still left the mound frustrated.
To him, it wasn’t good enough.
So when he took the mound again, he pitched like he had something to prove.
After issuing a leadoff walk to LSU commit Dylan Minnettee, Hardcastle settled in and retired the next nine straight.
“I had everything working,” Hardcastle said. “I just like to go after hitters.”
That confidence never wavered. Any time Franklin threatened, Hardcastle shut it down.
The streak ended in the fourth when Andrew Flores reached on an error.
Hardcastle quickly erased it, throwing him out.
In the fifth, Franklin finally recorded its first hit and put another runner aboard on an error.
Hardcastle struck out the next two hitters.
In the sixth, another runner reached on an error.
Hardcastle threw out the sacrifice bunt attempt, then struck out the next two.
“I’m really glad to be able to catch guys like this,” Rabara said. “Some of the best in probably Northern California. I had complete confidence going into that seventh inning that this was going to be the game right there.”
In the seventh, after allowing a one-out single, Hardcastle got a popout before ending the game with his 13th strikeout.
He threw his hands in the air, launched his glove and was immediately mobbed by teammates — and water — as he captured his second section title.
“This is 100% a top-three game for me — maybe even No. 1,” Hardcastle said. “I love getting to come here to Sac City and compete for a section title.”
‘A big-time player’
A CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I baseball championship in 2024. A CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II football championship in 2025. A CIF Division 2-AA state football championship.
Playing the national anthem on guitar in the regular-season finale.
Eating a Gian’s Delicatessen sandwich in the middle of this very game.
Rabara had already done all of it before stepping into the batter’s box in the sixth.
Pressure wasn’t anything new.
“He’s been clutch all year,” Lindholm said. “All year. I mean, a majority of his hits have to be with two outs.”
With one out, right fielder Dawson Labarthe and second baseman David Haggerty worked walks, prompting Franklin to pull starter Ryan Cody.
In came Minnettee.
Minnettee got the second out, moving both runners up, before Rabara stepped in.
He chased two straight changeups down and away for strikes.
“That at-bat was probably one of the biggest in the game,” Rabara said. “Runners on second and third, two outs — you have to put the ball in play.”
Three pitches later, he did exactly that.
Unsure whether it would fall, Rabara never stopped running.
“I didn’t even know it went fair, to be honest,” Rabara said. “I was just running to second, but I had a good feeling it was going to be fair. The guy was running real hard, so I thought it was going to be fair either way. Really glad it was fair, to be honest.”
Hardcastle added, “He’s a big-time player. He’s been great behind the plate all year. For him to come up clutch right there was pretty sweet. He’s just clutch.”
This article originally appeared on The Record: St. Mary’s baseball gets revenge, shuts down Franklin for CIF SJS championship
Reporting by Dylan Ackermann, The Stockton Record / The Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
