2024 Season in Review – COD Baseball

Under the tutelage of fourth-year head coach Sam DiMatteo, the #24 seeded Roadrunners Baseball team ended the 2024 season claiming their third consecutive playoff berth.

DiMatteo guided the Roadrunners, finishing to the regular season with a 21-19 overall record and an 15-9 conference record. They were rewarded with the 24 seed in the Southern California Regional Playoffs along with 3 First Team selections (Trevor Stowe, Eric Arreola & Aiden Arriaga) and 4 Second Team selections (Braden Turner, Samuele Bruno, Nicolas Ely & Adam Moser).

You can find the complete IEAC All-Conference List HERE

Right-handed pitcher and designated hitter Trevor Stowe (Buffalo (WY) H.S.) was named First Team All-Inland Empire Athletic Conference (IEAC) finishing the season with a impressive 105 strike outs in 78 and two-thirds innings pitched. The Roadrunners record for strike outs in a season is 112 by David Paveloff in 1988. His strikeout numbers ranked him 4th in the state and his 31 walks also ranked him 4th in the state. The 6 foot 2, 200 pound freshman, was named the COD Student Athlete of the Month twice (February and April) and compiled a 6-6 record in 15 starts over 16 appearances, throwing 5 or more innings in 11 of those games. The Washington State Cougars commit compiled a 3.78 earned run average in his lone season as a member of the Roadrunners. On the offensive side of the plate, Stowe led the team in batting average, hitting .351, finishing second in runs batted in (40) and tied for second in hits (53).

Third baseman Eric Arreola (South Gate International Studies Learning Center) was also named First Team All-IEAC finishing the season leading the team in RBIs (42), tied for tops in doubles (14) and tied for second in hits (53). The 6 foot 2, 215 pound sophomore, had 16 multi-hit games and 3 three-hit games in his lone season as a member of the Roadrunners. In the field, Arreola grabbed a .944 fielding percentage from the "hot corner."

Right fielder Aiden Arriaga (La Quinta H.S.) was also named First Team All-IEAC finishing the season leading the team in hits (54) and stolen bases (16) and tied for the lead in doubles (14). The 5 foot 10, 180 pound freshman speedster, had 16 multi-hit games, including 4 games where he had 3 or more hits and Arriaga had 4 straight games with extra base hits from April 16 to April 23.

Right-handed pitcher Braden Turner (Henderson (NV) Basic Academy) was named to his second consecutive Second Team All-IEAC finishing second on the team in innings pitched (71.0), strikeouts (50) and starts (11). The 6 foot 1, 190 pound sophomore, had two complete game shutouts, which put him 2nd in the state. His complete game shutout of Chaffey at home on March 5 and breaking a 29-year drought at Orange Coast, with a 1-0 win on March 28 were significant highlights.

Left fielder Samuele Bruno (Nettuno (Italy) Foro Italico Univeristy) was also named Second Team All-IEAC finished second on the team in home runs (5). The 5 foot 11, 196 pound freshman, had 8 multi-hit games, including 3 games where he had 3 or more hits. On March 23, had one of the greatest single game offensive performances in Roadrunners history, going 4 for 4 with 3 home runs, 5 RBIs and 3 runs scored as Desert topped San Bernardino Valley, 21-4.

Short stop Nicolas Ely (Salt Lake City (UT) Brighton) was also named Second Team All-IEAC finished in the top 10 in the State in sacrifice hits and tied for 6th on the team in hits (34). He had 9 multi-hit games and 2 games where he had 3 or more hits. On April 11, was perfect at the plate, going 4 for 4 with 2 doubles and 3 runs scored in a 21-13 home win over Barstow.

First baseman Adam Moser (Peoria (AZ) Sunrise Mountain) was also named Second Team All-IEAC was the top home run hitter on the team, collecting 6 bombs throughout the course of the season. His 26 RBIs was good enough to finish 4th on the team and was on pace to knock in more, but a hamstring injury sidelined him for 8 games. He had 9 multi-hit games and on April 11, had a huge game as he clobbered a grand slam in the bottom of the 6th in a lopsided win over Barstow.

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For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.

Information, Photo & Story provided by COD Sports Information.