Merced College secures place in baseball playoffs with walk-off win

As soon as Joseph Salmeri saw Adam Nascimento slide safely across the plate, he spiked his helmet to the turf and dove into the mob of teammates ready to embrace him.

The Merced College sophomore wears his heart on his sleeve, and the emotions he’d subdued for the game’s biggest moment were unleashed in a moment of pure joy.

With two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Salmeri drilled a 2-0 pitch into center to walk the Blue Devils off with a 5-4 victory over College of the Sequoias. Their celebration had extra enthusiasm as Merced College secured its place in the playoffs by locking up second place in the Central Valley Conference.

“I was just trying to not get too hyped up in that situation,” said Salmeri, who finished 4 for 5 with a home run. “I needed to calm down so I didn’t chase something. He went off-speed, too.

“Once he fell behind, I just zeroed in on my pitch and tried to make sure I didn’t do too much when I got it.”

Even with a good jump from second, Nascimento’s run was no sure thing. Giants center fielder Blake Edmonson got a good bounce and fired a strike to the plate. Nascimento slid wide and just eluded catcher Dillon Kelley’s swipe tag.

“I knew it was going to be close,” Nascimento said. “The rumor was he had a really good arm. I saw the catcher step up to catch the ball, so I just tried to go as wide as I could.”

It was a tremendous finish to a game with a playoff feel.

Salmeri opened the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning, his third in as many games. Sequoias (18-17, 13-10 CVC) rallied back, taking leads in the sixth and seventh innings. The Blue Devils (23-12, 16-7) had an immediate response each time.

A big sixth inning gave the Giants a 3-1 lead, but Merced answered with four consecutive two-out hits. Dalton Beatty tied the game with a two-run double.

Sequoias went back on top in the seventh on a Matt Cota single, but a double play got the Blue Devils out of the inning. Limiting the damage was the key for MC’s pitchers all afternoon as the defense turned three crucial double plays. It allowed Jimbo Pernetti to single in the tying run in the bottom of the seventh and set the stage for Salmeri’s heroics.

“It was everything you’d expect this game to be,” MC coach Chris Pedretti said. “They were fighting for their playoff lives and we were trying to lock up the automatic bid. It’s the kind of game we’re going to see next week, so it’s an all-around good experience for us.”

This story was originally published April 23, 2015 at 10:53 PM with the headline "Merced College secures place in baseball playoffs with walk-off win."