Mariposa’s varsity baseball team was an unknown quantity at the beginning of the season. Not anymore.

With the warrior performance of senior Jacob Johnson on the mound, the Grizzlies claimed their second Sac-Joaquin Section, Division VI baseball championship Monday afternoon, downing Golden Sierra’s Grizzlies, 5-1, at Tony Zupo Field in Lodi.

“When we started warming up before the game, I told him (Johnson) that I was going to start Nady (Derek), but he really, really wanted the ball,” said head coach Bruce Vegely. “I told him to call his dad. I needed to talk to him and make sure it was okay if he threw.”

According to Vegely, Jacob’s father, Nate, said, “He’s done everything to prepare for it. He’s ready. It’s his last high school game, so let him pitch.”

Vegely was concerned since Johnson closed out last week with 10 innings on the mound, the maximum allowed by the California Interscholastic Foundation.

“He was going to start on just two days rest, and I’m not about to get a kid hurt, so I had to talk to his parents,” Vegely explained.

Johnson delivered a gem. He gave up just three hits and a solo run.

“He’s (Johnson) a mirror of this whole team,” Vegely said. “They’re scrappy. They have a will to win, and they proved that all season by the way they kept coming back.”

“I think this championship is more satisfying than the one we won in 2008,” Vegely said. “The 2008 team was loaded with talent, but this team had to work harder and overcome more adversity. The best part of the whole day was watching these guys dog pile, and the seniors cry when they realized this was the last time they would put on a Mariposa baseball uniform.”

The Grizzlies got on the board early with a single run in the first inning. Senior catcher Kevin Foraker drew a walk and stole second. Senior shortstop Jarrett Miller ripped a 1-0 pitch for a single and pushed Foraker over the plate for a 1-0 lead.

Golden Sierra tied the contest in the second inning on a double and a sacrifice fly, but Mariposa answered with another run in the bottom of the third.

Foraker led off the inning by smashing a triple. One out later, Miller’s sacrifice fly to leftfield allowed Foraker to cross the plate with the go-ahead run.

Johnson got some breathing room in the bottom of the fourth as Mariposa added a pair of runs.

Junior Jarrett Leonard was hit by a pitch to earn a free pass. He advanced when senior second baseman Tommy Stickles reached on an infield error. Senior rightfielder A.J. Hall smacked a single to score Leonard, and when Cody Stitt belted a sacrifice fly into deep rightfield, Stickles scored for a 4-1 Mariposa advantage.

The Grizzlies added a run in the bottom of the sixth on a deep sacrifice fly by senior leftfielder Colin Ritter.

When Hall pulled in a long drive to rightfield for the third out in the top of the seventh inning, it was over, and the expected celebration ensued.

“I know I have a few more gray hairs from these guys coming from behind all season, but they just wouldn’t quit. We had to win four in a row to take league, then we had to win back-to-back against Marysville,” Vegely said. “I think the game that solidified this team was when we came back and beat Turlock Christian for the league championship. Mentally, that put us over the hump.”

Mariposa opened the playoffs with a 6- 5 win over Lindhurst to gain the semi-finals, where they faced Marysville in a best-of-three series.

The Grizzlies lost the first game of the series, 6-5, with the second contest slated for last Thursday. That game was rained out, and moved to Friday in Lodi.

Johnson’s performance on the mound, and at the plate, was pivotal for Mariposa.

In last Friday’s first game, Mariposa clobbered Marysville, 9-0. Leonard, a lefty, started on the rubber for Mariposa, but threw just a single inning before having to leave the mound with a shoulder injury.

Johnson took over and threw the final six innings, giving up just two hits and not allowing a run. He was three-for-four at the plate with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored.

That win forced the deciding second game Friday evening.

Nady, a sophomore who was elevated from the JVs to varsity mid-season, got the nod to start because Leonard wasn’t able to throw. He went three innings, giving up four runs on just two hits.

The Grizzlies gained a 6-4 lead heading into the fourth inning and never looked back. Johnson took the mound to preserve Nady’s effort and didn’t allow a run, yielding just four hits. He was also twofor three at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored. Miller was also a stick for the Grizzlies with a two-for-four effort, including a double, and a pair of RBIs.

“This one was extra special,” Vegely said. “They deserved it.”