Rancho Santiago Wins State Berth : Baseball: Martineau plays key role in Dons’ 5-2 victory over Saddleback.

When Brian Martineau of Rancho Santiago broke his hand about a month ago, his season was believed to be over.

But Martineau, a right-handed pitcher, worked hard during his rehabilitation and was able to return sooner than expected.

Once Rancho Santiago Coach Don Sneddon got the word, he put Martineau right to work.

Martineau picked up his second save in as many days Sunday as host Rancho Santiago beat Saddleback, 5-2, in the second round of the Southern California playoffs.

It was the 12th consecutive victory for Rancho Santiago (39-9), which has won 23 of its last 24 games.

With the victory, the Dons advance to the State tournament, which starts Saturday in Fresno, for the third consecutive year.

“It’s good to get back there,” Sneddon said. “That was our goal from Day 1.”

Martineau, 6-1 as a starter, broke his pitching hand by punching a dugout wall in frustration over his performance in a nonconference game April 19. He was expected to be out at least six weeks.

“That was a stupid thing to do,” Martineau said. “But you learn from your mistakes. I told my teammates just get me to the regionals and I could come back.”

He pitched in a game for the first time since the injury Saturday and got the final out of a 2-0 victory over Los Angeles Pierce.

Sunday, he replaced starter Matt Montgomery (2-0) with one out in the sixth and Rancho Santiago leading, 3-1.

He gave up a run (in the seventh), two hits and struck out three over the final 3 2/3 innings for his fourth save.

But it wasn’t without excitement in the seventh.

Saddleback loaded the bases with one out and Ryan Johnson had a sacrifice fly to cut Rancho Santiago’s lead to 4-2.

Martineau then attempted a pickoff at second but threw the ball into center field, enabling the runners to move to second and third.

But he escaped the jam by striking out Sam Voita. He then retired the next six to close out the game.

The Dons’ first run came on Kyle Evans’ 12th home run in the top of the third and Saddleback tied it on Johnson’s RBI single in the bottom of the inning.

Jamie Estrada doubled and later scored on a wild pitch to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh for Rancho Santiago. Brian Carlson added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to put the Dons up 3-1.

Ryan Fullerton had a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1 in the seventh.

David Mallas’ run-scoring single in the eighth gave Rancho Santiago a 5-2 lead.