The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.

The comeback kids finally ran out of late-inning magic.

Having made it to Sunday’s championship round of the California Community College State Baseball Final Four, the College of San Mateo needed to beat Ohlone-Fremont twice to win its first-ever state title. But the Bulldogs couldn’t force a winner-take-all game, losing 16-10 at Fresno City College. CSM capped one of its most successful seasons in school history at 37-11, finishing as the state runner-up for the fourth time.

The Bulldogs made a valiant run to the championship round. After losing their Final Four opener 18-6 to Rio Hondo Friday, CSM had no margin for error left in the double-elimination tournament. The Bulldogs stayed alive with a pair of victories Saturday. They beat El Camino 15-14 before whipping Rio Hondo, 16-4 in a pair of elimination games.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, their Achilles’ heel in the playoffs — not enough pitching in terms of quality and depth — came back to haunt them once again. Ohlone jumped on CSM early to take a commanding lead. However, the Bulldogs — just like you knew they would — made things interesting near the end, loading the bases with one out in the top of the eighth inning with a run already in.

That’s when Renegades coach Jordon Twohig brought in Roberto Padilla, who pitched six innings of no-hit ball in Ohlone’s opening win Friday only to be lifted so he would be available for crucial situations like this. Padilla, who is arguably the best pitcher in the state, got out of the jam to preserve a seven-run lead. While making it to the championship round was impressive, the highlight of the Bulldogs’ Final Four appearance came in the win over El Camino.

It was literally a comeback for the ages, as CSM trailed 14-7 entering the bottom of the ninth in the elimination game. The Bulldogs scored eight runs on just three hits, capping an amazing comeback win when Ryan Allgrove and Chris Schindler drew run-scoring walks. CSM catcher Andrew Suvunnachuen continued his torrid streak, ending the season as one of the hottest hitters in the state.

He went 3 for 5 (single, double and triple) with three runs scored and five RBIs against Rio Hondo Saturday, then drove in three more runs in Sunday’s finale vs. Ohlone. Against Rio Hondo Saturday, Josh Saio allowed only two earned runs in six innings, one of only a handful of strong starts from a CSM starter in this year’s entire postseason.

Justin Burns tossed three scoreless innings of relief to shut the door on Rio Hondo. However, the Bulldogs simply didn’t get enough pitching outside of Burns and Saio at the Final Four, leading to their downfall. Not even the red-hot Padilla could completely shut down CSM’s powerful lineup, as it scored a run off the Ohlone ace in the ninth.

Allgrove, Joey Wallace, O’Koyea Dickson, Nick White, Thomas Wood and Justin Maffei powered the CSM offense all season, and they all had strong games over the weekend.