CONCORD >> The bigger the stakes, the better De La Salle senior Anthony Martinez played.

In 12 games against teams that finished among the Top 15 in the Bay Area News Group’s season-ending rankings, the UC Irvine-bound catcher hit .457 (16 for 35) with 15 RBIs and five home runs.

In the NorCal Division I semifinals against Foothill, he went 2 for 3 with a homer and three RBIs.

He had five RBIs and a home run against San Ramon Valley in the North Coast Section D-I semifinals.

He committed zero errors in 254 total chances defensively.

And his team won it all.

De La Salle captured NCS and NorCal championships, finishing No. 1 in Cal-Hi Sports’ state rankings.

For this, Martinez is the Bay Area News Group’s player of the year.

“He had a very special year,” DLS coach David Jeans said. “He really should be Northern California player of the year.”

Martinez hit a school-record 10 home runs this spring.

He also knocked in 44 runs and struck out just twice – yes, twice – in 124 plate appearances.

He finished with a .411 batting average.

Asked about his numbers, the No. 3 hitter in De La Salle’s batting order he said, “I don’t really pay attention to it. I just try to put good swings on the ball. Everything takes care of itself.”

When De La Salle rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat St. Francis 7-6 in the NorCal final, Martinez’s words rang true.

Everything took care of itself.

“We knew we could get the job done and we did it,” he said.