By Rick Assad
Fresno State’s baseball team came to Westwood with high hopes but after losses to UC Irvine and UCLA on consecutive days at Jackie Robinson Stadium in the NCAA Los Angeles Regional, the Bulldogs’ season is over.
On Saturday afternoon, one time Burroughs pitcher, Aidan Cremarosa, gave it everything he had across six innings, but one frame early proved costly in an 8-3 setback to the Anteaters.
“I felt like I was right where I needed to be,” said Cremarosa, who gave up seven hits and five runs, all earned along with striking out seven, walking three and hitting one batter. “On the field with my brothers and in front of the Red Wave on our biggest stage of the season.”
Cremarosa added: “We all worked really hard to get here and I am proud to share that experience with my team,” he stated.
After working a perfect first inning and recording two strikeouts, the junior right-hander who was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Year after a regular season in which he went 6-5 with a 4.13 earned-run average over 89 and one-third innings with 105 strikeouts and 24 walks, came within one strike of allowing no runs in the second inning.
Instead, what was a close pitch on a two-strike count, was called a ball and it gave renewed life to third baseman James Castagnola (two hits), who lined a three-run homer to left field on the next offering.
In that inning which saw UC Irvine (42-16), the No. 2 seeded team in the regional, send seven batters to the plate.
Cremarosa, who transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, after two years in the Burroughs baseball program, hit the first batter, center fielder Jacob McCombs, who had three hits.
Two batters later, Cremarosa issued a walk to catcher Blake Penso and then whiffed designated hitter Alonso Reyes, before allowing the three-run bomb two batters later.
In the top of the third and after getting the first two batters including striking out first baseman Anthony Martinez, Cremarosa surrendered a solo blast to center field by McCombs that made it 4-0.
The Anteaters added a solo run in the fourth inning against Cremarosa who allowed two hits, but the run scored on a double play.
“We just had to keep doing what we do,” said Cremarosa, who has one more season of eligibility remaining or perhaps could hear his name called during the MLB draft. “We were there for a reason, and although it wasn’t the result we wanted, we know we fought hard to get there.”
Cremarosa, who faced 27 batters, threw 118 pitches including 71 for strikes, and was exceedingly proud of what the team accomplished this season.
“I don’t feel pressure to perform with this team. I know they have my back in the field and at the plate, and they know I’m going to battle for them on the mound too,” he said. “This isn’t how any team wants the season to end, but we have a lot to be proud of this year, and I am grateful to have experienced that with them.”
Fresno State (31-29), the No. 4 seed in the regional, found itself in an elimination game after falling to No. 1 seeded UCLA 19-4 on Friday.
The Bruins (44-16) defeated Arizona State 11-5 on Saturday night. The Sun Devils (36-23) were the No. 3 seeded team in the regional.
The Bruins had a season highs of 19 runs and 22 hits on Friday against the Bulldogs and were led offensively by first baseman Mulivai Levu with three hits, five runs batted in and two runs scored and center fielder Payton Brennan, who also collected three hits with four RBIs and two runs tallied.
In that game, the Bulldogs trailed 4-0 after the first inning and 6-1 after three frames.
Fresno State scored a run in the top of the fourth inning to make it 6-2 and after neither team scored for two innings, the Bruins erupted for six runs in the seventh and tacked on seven runs in the eighth inning.
Craig Sherwood has been a baseball coach in Burbank for numerous decades and saw talent in Cremarosa.
“I have been lucky enough to have coached about 100 Division I players along with several players who made it to The Show and thought Aidan had the characteristics and the size to make the step up the ladder,” he said. “He already had good size [6-foot-3], but he needed a little more strength, which he would eventually get within the year.”
Sherwood continued: “When Aidan came to Burroughs, I thought he had all the makings of a Division I guy. We had him play junior varsity that year so he would gain experience and strength, and the plan was to make him the shortstop starting his sophomore year,” he said. “Our shortstop at that time was Brian Garcia, who was going to be a college-bound player.”
Sherwood offered a little more insight into Cremarosa.
“He also had a good attitude and was more of a quiet leader, but I felt at the time it was more respectful and that he would probably become a lot more vocal with time and experience,” he said. “I am very happy for him and his success so far as he continues to climb the ladder.”
