SAN DIMAS — Colony’s Steven Gonzales has pitched in big games, and none was bigger than last year’s CIF Southern Section Division 6 championship game.

Gonzales threw a complete game with 11 strikeouts as the Titans defeated Village Christian 8-3 for the title.

The stakes were not as high Friday against San Dimas, but Gonzales delivered like it was, throwing a shutout with eight strikeouts as the Titans edged San Dimas, 1-0.

Colony improved to 16-3 overall and 4-2 in the Hacienda League while dropping San Dimas to 11-7 and 2-3.

“He’s a warrior,” Colony coach Al Leyva said of Gonzales. “He’s a workhorse for us. He’s been like that for us and this is his third year (on varsity). Today you saw him really pitch. He’s won games and he’s also lost some games. But today was probably one of his best outings in the three years that I’ve seen him.

“I thought the championship game in the finals last year he did really well. But this one was magical for him so I’m really proud of him.”

It was a pitchers’ duel between Gonzales and San Dimas sophomore James Rocha.

Rocha was solid too, throwing a complete game while allowing just three hits with seven strikeouts.

Rocha’s only blemish came in the fourth inning when he issued a one-out walk to Jeremy Guadian, who stole second. With two outs, Colony’s Ricardo Zazueta smacked a single that scored Guadian for the game’s only run.

“We didn’t do enough offensively, but our pitcher did a great job,” San Dimas co-head coach Mike Regan said of Rocha. “He’s been pitching awesome. You get a run for that guy and he keeps you just about in any game.”

San Dimas was able to get seven hits off Gonzales, but it couldn’t shove a run across.

The Saints’ Vaughn Coleman hit a two-out double in the third inning. In the fifth, he had a two-out single and stole second base. But each time, Gonzales refused to give up a run.

The Saints had runners on first and third with two outs in the sixth, but Gonzales got a fly out to escape.

After the Saints got a runner on base in the seventh, Gonzales ended the game with a strikeout.

“Talk about adrenaline and rush,” Gonzales said of the final out. “That was a good pitch and I was happy I was able to execute what I wanted to throw.”

The way Rocha was pitching, Gonzales knew what he had to do.

“It feels like all that weight is on your shoulders, so you have to keep fighting and keep battling,” Gonzales said. “It was a good game, a great game overall. Everything was moving the way I wanted it to move.”

Leyva knew Colony’s move to the revamped Hacienda League would be a challenge. While Colony won Division 6 title last season, San Dimas competed in Division 1. South Hills, which is 4-0 in the Hacienda and was in Division 2 last year, gave the Titans one of their league losses this season, winning 11-1.

That’s what made Friday’s win so significant, and why Leyva felt that Gonzales might have pitched his best game in a Titans uniform.

He knows that teams like San Dimas have a strong baseball pedigree.

“San Dimas and South Hills, they’re in a different league and they’re well coached,” Leyva said. “So, if you can get one from one of those two guys and take care of business on the other end, you have a chance to finish in second or third place to get to the playoffs. That’s what we’re looking at. We just want to play good baseball and hit our stride going into the playoffs.”