San Dimas’ baseball team got great pitching, timely hitting and played solid defense in a 5-0 win over Paraclete in a CIF Southern Section Division 3 quarterfinal game Friday afternoon.

The Saints (18-10) will play at Beckman in the semifinals Tuesday. It will be their first semifinal appearance since 2015.

Saints sophomore James Rocha pitched a shutout and senior center fielder Vaughn Coleman hit a grand slam in the second inning.

“It was a 1-0 game and they walked Jason (Almeda) just ahead of me,” Coleman said. “I knew they were going to pitch to me or they would walk in another run, so I knew I was going to get a pitch. It was a fastball away and I didn’t want to be late on it so I just pulled it.”

Rocha scattered four hits, struck out nine and wasn’t in trouble until a hit batter and a single with one out in the seventh. Saints co-head coach Mike Regan went to the mound at that point to check on Rocha.

Rocha got the next two batters out — fly out and strikeout — to finish off the Spirits (17-14).

“It was hot and I started pulling off my slider a little bit,” Rocha said. “But I just simplified things and got it. My change-up wasn’t on today. I think my best pitch was my fastball, but my slider was good until I started pulling off it late.”

“Getting a complete game from Rocha was huge,” Regan said. “This was his best game of the year. He’s just a dog. Except for the last inning, he wasn’t in any trouble. He was getting ahead of hitters, keeping them off balance. That was fun to watch.”

— John Honell

GANESHA 1, SAUGUS 0: The way Ganesha pitcher Gavin Moran and Saugus’ Kaleb Haag were battling, it seemed likely that extra innings were in the cards in the CIF-SS Division 4 quarterfinal.

But Ganesha broke the scoreless tie with a walk-off finish in the bottom of the seventh for the victory.

Ganesha’s Alvaro Moreno led off the seventh with a single, which was just the third hit of the game off Haag. Elijah Horn came in to run for Moreno and he reached second base after Saugus catcher JD Lawless tried to pick off Horn with a throw that sailed into right field.

After Bryant Loo’s ground out moved Horn to third, Saugus walked the next two batters to load the bases with one out. That set the stage for Isaiah Torres, who belted a line drive up the middle to bring in Horn for the game-winning run.

Ganesha (21-3) will be home for Tuesday’s semifinal against South Torrance, a 3-1 winner over Oxnard Pacifica on Friday.

“It feels good,” Torres said. “It was a pitching game today, but it was just my time to shine. I had God in me, and he got me through it, a line drive up the middle and I won for my team.”

Ganesha coach Jared Sandler thought Torres handled the at-bat well.

“I thought (Moreno’s) at-bat to lead off the inning was very good,” Sandler said. “Then you get in that spot, infield’s in, bases-loaded, we wanted to stay off the ground. It’s our nine hitter so we just don’t want to hit into a double play. If you strike out you strike out. (Torres) got a real good swing off and drove it.”

It was Moran who got the Giants to the finish line.

Moran threw a two-hit shutout with seven strikeouts. He retired seven straight batters to give his team a chance to win it in the final frame.

“I have full confidence in my team, I knew it was going to happen,” Moran said. “It was just a matter of time.”

— Fred Robledo

MARSHALL 1, SANTA FE 0: Caleb Thatcher threw a shutout for Marshall in the CIF-SS Division 6 quarterfinals.

The senior allowed six hits over seven innings and struck out seven to help his team advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2019.

Marshall (19-6-1) will host Heritage Christian on Tuesday.

“He’s our guy,” Marshall coach Joe Federico said of Thatcher. “I mean, he had to sit out last year for transferring. His house burned down because of the fires (in January). He competes and prepares himself…He’s just a really, really good pitcher.”

It’s safe to say Thatcher has been nothing short of inspiring since the season began. And he has turned it up a notch in the playoffs, having thrown two shutouts. He beat Leuzinger 6-0 in a first-round game May 16.

“It means a lot. I’m doing this for my parents and what we lost,” Thatcher said. “It means a lot to me. I go out there with a fire in my heart and ready to go. A lot of these guys want it, and I’m super grateful to be on a team with guys who want to win.”

Santa Fe outhit the Eagles, but squandered multiple RBI opportunities. The Chiefs (15-17) hit into a double play with runners in scoring position in the second and third innings.

“We had the opportunities. They held us down,” Santa Fe coach Pierre Romo said. “We’ve been playing some really good baseball and you tip your cap to them and their pitcher Thatcher. He did an outstanding job.”

— Gabriel Duarte

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

Quarterfinals

Division 3

San Dimas 5, Paraclete 0

Glendora 2, Costa Mesa 1

Division 4

Ganesha 1, Saugus 0

Division 6

Marshall 1, Santa Fe 0

Division 7

Grace 2, Bosco Tech 1

Division 8

Colton 15, Duarte 5

Pioneer 12, Beverly Hills 1

Division 9

Mountain View 4, Pomona 1

TUESDAY’S SEMIFINALS

Division 3

San Dimas at Beckman

Temecula Valley at Glendora

Division 4

South Torrance at Ganesha

Division 6

Heritage Chr. at Marshall

Division 8

Placentia Valencia at Pioneer

Division 9

Mountain View at Coastal Chr.