Prep baseball: Martin's complete game leads Rochester to district victory

May 12—BOX SCORE

At Heinz-Rotter Field

WARRIORS 8, ROCKETS 4

Castle Rock000 101 2 — 4

Rochester003 212 X — 8

CR Pitching — Neighbors 3 IP, 4 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 4 SO; Honey 2 IP, 0 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 2 SO; Chisholm 1 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO. Highlights — Teter 2-4, RBI; Honey 2-4, RBI, R, SB; Hamer 1-3, RBI, R

ROC Pitching — Martin 7 IP, 8 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 5 SO. Highlights — Martin 2-3, 2 RBI, BB; Rodriguez 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB, SB; Barth 1-4, RBI, R, SB

ROCHESTER — Flashback to 2014 and a certain Rochester High School baseball pitcher went viral after a Class 1A District 4 quarterfinal.

Dylan Fosnacht made it on ESPN after he threw 194 pitches in the Warriors' 1-0 17-inning triumph over La Center. He recorded 17 strikeouts after being taken out in the 15th frame. That season, they went on to the district championship game.

It also marked the last time Rochester won a non-district pigtail game. It's been 12 years of either not making districts or going two-and-out.

Tayden Martin won't be making an appearance on the Worldwide Leader of Sports anytime soon. He'll just have to settle for being the pitcher that broke the streak.

The Rochester starter went the distance on Monday night, striking out five and allowing just one walk to give the Evergreen League's No. 2 seed an 8-4 victory over Castle Rock, the Trico's No. 3 seed at Heinz-Rotter Field.

"I just wanted to get out ahead early, pound the zone and let my guys work," Martin said. "This is the group of guys that can (make state)."

It puts the Warriors (13-7) into Tuesday's semis against Trico league champ Seton Catholic. First pitch from the Harmony Sports Complex in Vancouver is slated for 4 p.m. They are one win away from their first state tourney berth since...

You guessed it, 2014.

"(Tayden) threw extremely well today," Rochester head coach Brad Quarnstrom said. "He progressively got better, but his performance tonight was his best. By doing what he did tonight is a sign of things to come."

Martin has evolved into one the Warriors most consistent pitchers, thanks to his command of his curveball and changeup mixed with his fastball. The right-hander spent most of the offseason honing in on his two off-speed pitches.

He immediately saw results.

"First game of the year," Martin said. "I pitched well last year, but the biggest thing for me was to work on the off-speed pitches."

Monday also was a bit of payback for the Warriors and Martin. Last spring in a district elimination game, Castle Rock claimed a 6-3 win thanks to three unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

Martin went the distance in that one, too, but the Rochester defense committed three errors. It was nearly a complete reversal in 2026.

The Rockets were responsible for three errors — two on pickoff attempts at first that allowed Rochester's base runners to get to third — and the Warriors made them pay with a three-run bottom of the third on an RBI single from Simon Barth and the last two scored on wild pitches.

In the fourth, another wild pitch plated a run and Owen Driver's sacrifice fly made it 5-1. Up by four entering the bottom of the sixth, Martin roped a two-run single with the bases loaded for key insurance.

"It is a lot easier to pitch when you're up six instead of four; you can breathe a little and just attack," Martin said. "We got a lot of guys that are plus-speed and are smart."

Despite Castle Rock mounting a rally in the seventh, Martin shut the door on a comeback by leaving the tying run on-deck. The Warriors had a plethora of advantages within the game — stolen bases, wild pitches and hit by pitches — all were in their favor.

"We had some good clutch hits today," Quarnstrom said. "We didn't do anything extra special, we capitalized on the free passes they gave us."

Ethan Rodriguez and Dane Akin each crossed home twice while Easton Singleton and Rodriguez both drew a pair of walks for Rochester. Quarnstrom said Rodriguez, the Idaho Football recruit, will get the nod versus Seton Catholic.

Regardless of a win or loss, the Warriors are a game away from being in the final 16 in 1A. For a roster with six seniors that have been through the wringer in two classifications, they feel they're primed for a run into late-May.

Even after losing four in a row and ending the regular season with a thrilling 12-10 win over Rainier, their confidence never wavered.

"I don't think Seton Catholic has anyone in the lineup we're afraid of, they're just a high school baseball team," Quarnstrom said. "They understand what is at stake and they don't want to see this thing end anytime soon."