Cool Hand Peyton: Rowles’ walk-off caps off pitchers best performance

Cool Hand Luke. Some might think of the famous movie, Cool Hand Luke, particularly the scene where Luke earned the nickname by remaining calm under pressure. For Walnut Creek and sophomore infielder Peyton Rowles, Cool Hand Peyton is much more fitting. 

The San Jose State product dug into the batter's box with one gone and junior infielder Kevin Parker Jr. on first. With Randa by NBA YoungBoy playing, fans, bundled in blankets, sweatshirts or both, awaited. Rowles, who delivered a single as a pinch-hitter earlier in the game, watched the first pitch go by. The air continued to cool, the sun continued to dim, and the possibility of extra innings was a topic of discussion on the bleachers. Then, it wasn't. 

Rowles smacked a hard liner over the second baseman's head and into the right-center gap on a 1-2 fastball. The bench slowly started to wander onto the dirt, towards the field from the dugout as Parker Jr. rounded second and touched home base to seal the ninth-inning walk-off. 

The Crawdads were victorious in their home opener at Monte Vista High School, 4-3, on Saturday night. Rowles, alongside the pitching, helped ease the pressure off the rest of the offense, who have shone through the first three games of the season. 

"I felt like it was time to get a guy off the bench and hopefully produce in that spot, and he did hit two line drives a day," Walnut Creek coach Brant Cummings said about Rowles. "He had two really good at-bats, and the second at-bat won a game for us."

Limiting free passes and throwing strikes marked the turnaround on the mound Saturday. The Crawdads' pitchers allowed under double-digit walks, 4, for the first time all season. That, combined with an over 59% strike clip, set the recipe for success. 

"Resilience, guys can throw strikes," Walnut Creek sophomore right-handed pitcher Myles Brand said about what made the pitchers so successful tonight.  "(We needed) to pepper in strikes and make them swing today in a big ballpark today, with a lot of wind, so resilience." 

Emerging from the bullpen in the seventh inning, Brand pitched the final three innings, allowing just three hits and one unearned run, while striking out two batters. 

One of those strikeouts came in the top of the ninth. With a runner on second, Brand found himself six pitches into an incredibly important two-out at-bat, needing an out. Making sure Alameda wouldn't put a fourth run on the board, Brand got the batter looking, sending the Crawdads to the bottom of the ninth tied.

Senior right-handed pitcher Alex Gomez started on the bump. Gomez allowed one unearned run, firing off three innings of one-hit ball while tallying four strikeouts. 

Sophomore left-hander Paul Wheeler pitched one scoreless inning in relief for his Walnut Creek debut. Redshirt senior Noah Zirkle had himself a bounce-back game on the hill. Despite allowing a run, Zirkle threw strikes at a 65% clip and allowed just two baserunners. 

Zirkle felt good as he got one appearance closer to the Crawdads pitcher appearance record. 

"That's what I think about when I go to bed," Zirkle said. "Obviously, I want to continue to develop and get better week by week and have more success, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about it. The guy ahead of me, Ryan Delaney, was here today, and I told him today, I said, 'You better not think about coming back, because that would just be one extra outing for me.'"

After the game, Brand said that he knew the Crawdads would take it once he got his ninth out of the game.

"I was confident after I came in at the ninth," Brand said. "I told the guys, 'Let's go score.' You just gotta talk it into existence."

Talk it into existence, he did. Three batters later, is when Rowles' crucial walkoff came, sending Crawdads fans home happy. 

While Rowles was the hero Saturday night, it was a team effort at the plate. The man that Rowles drove in, Parker Jr., also had a big day, picking up an RBI and walking three times to extend his on-base streak to four games. Sophomore designated hitter Sutter Moss and redshirt freshman infielder TJ Woodson also picked up RBIs in the Crawdads' victory.

While the lineup produced at the plate, the work they did in the field was just as important. With his team doing a better job limiting runs since allowing 16 on opening day, Cummings said that he emphasized coaching his pitchers to put the ball in play to let the defense work.

"We have to force hitters to put the ball in play and allow our defense to play," Cummings said. "They're very good."

It isn't only Cummings who emphasized the importance of the defense. Brand also appreciated the assurance of a consistent group of fielders.

"I got great defensive guys behind me," Brand said. "A lot of experience there, so it's really easy to hold guys on and be able to focus because I got confidence in my guys making a defensive stop."

The Crawdads now look ahead to their third league game of the season, sitting at 3-1 overall and 1-1 in league play. Hoping to move above .500 in CCL play, the Crawdads will face the San Francisco Seagulls at 4:00 p.m. PDT at Monte Vista High School.

Being the winning pitcher in the home opener, Brand hopes to carry the momentum to the Crawdads' second home game of 2026.

"Good vibes, keep the energy up, keep talking to the guys, get them all excited, give them confidence," Brand said. "Confidence is what wins games."

"Great, it feels exuberant," Brand said. "All hype, first win. Hell yeah!"