As Brandon Guitierrez prepared for his start against the Broncos on Saturday March 22, the sophomore right-handed pitcher from Rancho Cucamonga felt that his game prep was a little too smooth for his liking. Baseball’s inevitable superstition crept into his thoughts.
“You never want to throw your bullpen too good, because usually it’s a bad sign going into the game that something might not go your way,” Gutierrez said.
Despite these superstitions, he settled in quickly and put on a dazzling display that left the Broncos hitless for multiple innings. With an emphatic zero in the Broncos’ hit column in the late stages of the game, a realization began to set in for Gutierrez — he was approaching a no-hitter.
As is the unspoken rule in baseball superstition, if your pitcher is throwing a no-hitter, you avoid their presence in the dugout to allow them to maintain their focus and avoid a premature jinx. That’s when Gutierrez realized he was closing in on something special, as his teammates actively avoided him to allow him to stay in the zone.
In the seventh inning, three outs away from a no-hitter, the Golden Eagles’ defense locked in to get the job done for their pitcher. Despite a runner getting to base, Gutierrez got the first two outs before getting the final batter to ground out to second baseman Javy Espinoza, sealing the Broncos’ fate and winning the game 11-9.
Gutierrez’s no-hitter was only the fifth in Cal State LA history, and the first since pitcher Isaac Morales tossed one in 2007.
When asked what he would remember the most from the game, Gutierrez reflected on the support he received from his teammates.
“They were really excited any time there was a play that was kind of close,” said Gutierrez. “I think that’s something that’s always going to stick with me, is that they were really rooting for me in that moment.”
While achieving one of the hardest feats in baseball is unforgettable, Gutierrez’s journey to Cal State LA is not something to be overlooked. Gutierrez grew up in a baseball oriented family where those around him actively embraced the sport. This includes his parents, siblings, grandparents and his uncle Ramon Troncoso, current Dodgers minor league affiliate pitching coach for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Growing up, his father Jason took an active role coaching his son all throughout travel ball, a highly competitive type of youth baseball where kids travel to tournaments in various regions across the U.S.
During his summer breaks, Gutierrez traveled to Arizona to compete with the Scottsdale Dirtbags on the weekends. On the weekdays, he returned to California to practice and train solo in preparation for his next tournament.
Gutierrez attended Ganesha High School in Pomona and took part in a dominant team that collected 20 wins and outscored their opponents 272-21. He made 12 appearances, while collecting 50 strikeouts, and only issuing 10 walks.
Although the team experienced massive amounts of success, his senior year turned into a nightmare that nearly derailed his baseball career. While preparing to play catch, Gutierrez attached resistance bands to a fence to stretch his arm. The bands snapped, hitting him in the eyes and nearly blinding him.
“My eyes were super blurry, I wasn’t able to see too much. I wasn’t allowed to move my head. I wasn’t allowed to lift anything heavier than five pounds because of the blood pressure in my eyes. The doctor didn’t want it affecting my eyes,” said Gutierrez. “My senior year, I really had to work for it and get back to where I was.”
Bedridden, the injury left him out of the sport for half a year. During this time, Gutierrez wondered if he would be able to keep his original vision, or even play the sport he loved ever again.
“Throughout the day I was taking non-stop eyedrops to help with the eye pressure and all the blood still in the eye. The cornea was cracked so they were trying to get that strengthened,” said Gutierrez. “They were trying to repair it like that without surgery.”
After recovering from the accident, Gutierrez received little attention from recruiters who felt that his size would be a disadvantage at the next level. Gutierrez, who currently stands at 5 feet11 inches and160 lbs, was deemed undersized for college baseball. According to Baseball America, the average size and weight of players during the 2023 College World Series between LSU and Florida came in at 6 feet 1 inch and 209 pounds.
Gutierrez, convinced he would be going the junior college route, instead received the opportunity to play at Cal State LA. In 2024, he pitched sparingly, only appearing in five innings in four games, while giving up four runs in his debut. In his other appearances, he didn’t allow any runs, lowering his earned run average (ERA) to 6.75.
In the midst of his second season with the Golden Eagles, and having earned a larger role in the pitching staff, Gutierrez understands from past experience that nothing is guaranteed, as he seeks to prove those wrong who undervalued him coming out of high school.
“I just have to go out there and show everyone that I’m that guy that people don’t expect.”
While confidence is key for a pitcher seeking to keep his squad in a game, so is the work behind the scenes, in the off season and during practice that counts just as much. The expectations set by the Golden Eagle coaching staff pushed Gutierrez to work on fundamentals during the offseason.
In eight appearances so far this season, he has pitched 46.2 innings with a 4-3 record, striking out 37 batters, with an ERA of 3.28. In addition to his no-hitter, he has three complete games and one shutout.
However, for Gutierrez personal stats come second, and being a team player is the paramount thing on his mind, in hopes that the Golden Eagles can match the expectations he has this season.
“The expectations I have is for us to have a good run to the playoffs. I think that we have a really good team and a really good chance,” said Gutierrez. “I kind of expect us to keep playing for as long as we can. I think we have a good shot, a good team.”
