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Mater Dei pitcher Brandon Thomas celebrates after a strikeout Friday in CIF playoff game against Foothill. (PHOTOS: Jacob Ramos, For OC Sports Zone).
In a CIF Division 2 baseball quarterfinal battle headlined by two NCAA Division I-committed pitchers, Mater Dei toppled Foothill 2-0 on Friday at Foothill.
Mater Dei moves on to the semifinals Tuesday at home vs. Fountain Valley.
On the road and facing USC-committed Gavin Lauridsen, Mater Dei looked to its own ace, Fresno State commit Brandon Thomas, to counter a Foothill team that had won its last three games.
Thomas did exactly that, and more. The senior dazzled, throwing a complete game shutout with 13 strikeouts, only allowing three Foothill baserunners. Postgame, he spoke about his outing to OC Sports Zone.
“I was feeling good. And I kind of kept it going from [the first inning], mixing in pitches and doing what I had to do,” Thomas said. “Coach [Duane] Page called a great game and just executing what he wants me to do was pretty big for this win.”
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Thomas’ slider excelled for the right-hander all afternoon, netting him over half of his strikeouts. After the win, Mater Dei’s back-to-back team MVP spoke about his most-used secondary pitch and the trust that he has in it on the mound.
“[My slider is] always a pitch that I can keep going to and it gets better throughout the game. So [I] kind of just keep trusting in it and keep using it effectively,” Thomas said.
Despite Thomas’ dominant outing, it wasn’t him alone that advanced the Monarchs to their first CIF semifinal since 2017.
Mater Dei got a massive lift on offense from their leadoff hitter and third baseman, Sebastian Navarro. Navarro was on base twice Friday, but his impact at the plate could not be measured solely in the box score.
Navarro connected on a leadoff single in the top of the sixth inning and was soon brought around to score by Ezekiel Lara, who blasted a double into the right-center gap.
Navarro also worked a walk against Lauridsen to lead off the game where he saw over 10 pitches from the Foothill ace. The run Navarro scored was the first of the game for Mater Dei, and the Monarchs knew how crucial long at-bats and runs against Lauridsen were to their victory.
“Against a guy like [Lauridsen], scoring two runs is a hard task in general … we had to work our butts off to kind of get to that point, to get two [runs] off of him, because he’s so good,” Mater Dei Coach Richard Mercado said postgame. “[Our] guys are fighting pitches off and extending at-bats so [that] gets his pitch count up a little earlier. He might have gotten a little bit tired at the end, I don’t know, but I think that gives us some opportunities we were able to capitalize on.”
Thomas provided the visiting Mater Dei crowd with multiple standout moments. However, none were more electric than when the Monarchs’ ace allowed a leadoff triple to Foothill’s Evan Rycroft, but proceeded to strike out three straight Knight batters to preserve the shutout.
Speaking about Thomas’ performance, Mercado praised his ace and the passion he displays when pitching.
“[When Thomas pitches], you get a guy who’s got a lot of heart out there on the mound as well, and you’re going to need it to beat a team like [Foothill],” Mercado said.
Opposite of the Monarchs were the Knights, who saw their season end in heartbreak after winning 19 games overall in 2024-25. After the loss, Foothill’s seniors were on the forefront of head coach Chris Price’s mind.
“These are the days that are really, really tough for coaches and even worse for players.” Price said. “These seniors, they left [the program] in a better place, and for that reason I’m really grateful to have known them.”
After meeting with his entire team, Price took a moment to speak to just his seniors. Foothill carried 11 seniors in 2024-2025, making up half of the team’s entire 22 player roster.
The Knights’ head coach spoke about Lauridsen and his career at Foothill as well.
“He’s a special talent and he’s just getting started in his career,” Price said. “We’re grateful that he’s on our side, and didn’t go the way I think he wanted it to go today, but he couldn’t have pitched any better.”
Price added that Lauridsen is now the all-time Foothill strikeout leader, surpassing MLB veteran Brad Boxberger for the record. Lauridsen, like Boxberger did in the 2000’s, will pitch at USC in the fall.
Price offered closing thoughts on his season and what is next for his program as it prepares to lose 11 players.
“The seniors did their part to put this program in a good place. And the young guys have to take this and let it fuel them and get them ready for the next part of their life, too,” Price said. “They’ve got to rebound and put the work in to get to where this team was as a group, this senior group.”
Mater Dei now looks to face Fountain Valley, who defeated Torrance 5-2 on Friday. When asked about how it felt to be two wins away from a CIF title, Mercado emphasized his team’s mentality.
“It’s a one game season and it starts next Tuesday, so we got to make sure we take care of business and show up ready to go.”