It wasn’t exactly a good beginning Tuesday for Westlake’s baseball when its bus got stuck at the entrance of Bishop Alemany’s athletic complex. Apparently buses have been trapped before at the same spot, so maybe a sign needs to go up banning buses.
Things only got worse, because Alemany’s home-field advantage came through again and again in a 9-6 Southern Section Division 2 victory. There was swirling wind, so Alemany, knowing how to play balls in the outfield, in the infield and at the plate, made for a frustrating ending to Westlake’s season.
There was a misplayed pop fly in the infield for Westlake. There was a home run by Alemany’s Maverick Cederline when he simply hit the ball in the air and it went for a home run thanks to wind over the center-field fence. But the key play was in the fifth inning in what appeared to be a wild pitch with the bases loaded for Westlake.
Except catcher Brody Thompson of Alemany retrieved it off a short backstop, underhanded the ball to pitcher Ricky Gonzalez, who tagged out the runner at the plate to end the threat.
“I can’t believe they sent the runner,” Alemany coach Randy Thompson said. “We couldn’t get out Ethan Miller today. There’s things we’re used to at the field. It was a weird day because wind kept changing direction.”
Mikey Martinez of Alemany receives $20 from his grandmother any time he hits a home run. He didn’t get paid Tuesday but went three for four with two RBIs and did his best as a starting pitcher for only the second time this season, throwing three innings. Chase Stevenson had two hits and three RBIs, including a home run.
Westlake’s Blake Miller ended his high school career with four hits, including a home run. Jaxson Neckien added three hits. Chase Stevenson had two hits and three RBIs for Alemany.
Westlake had the tying run at the plate with two out in the seventh when sidearmer Noah Barrientos got a strikeout to end the game.
Seven Mission League teams out of eight made the Southern Section playoffs, and one way to eliminate them is have Mission League teams face off. That will happen Friday when Alemany hosts Loyola in a Division 2 quarterfinal. Loyola advanced with a 7-6 win over another Mission League team, Chaminade. That leaves only five Mission teams left.
Loyola 7, Chaminade 6: Magnus Mayer came through with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh in the D2 game. Wyatt Clougherty had three hits. Alejandro Villegas added two hits.
Corona 6, Corona Santiago 1: The Panthers advance to Friday’s Division 1 quarterfinals. Mason Sims struck out 12 and Anthony Murphy, Joseph Flores and Danny De La Torre each hit home runs. Corona will face Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
Norco 9, Ayala 2: Zion Martinez had a home run and four RBIs to power the Cougars into the Division 1 quarterfinals. They will face Orange Lutheran on Friday.
La Mirada 11, Huntington Beach 1: Jacob Oropeza threw 5 1/3 innings of one-hit relief to lead La Mirada to a D1 quarterfinal game against St. John Bosco on Saturday at 11 a.m. Justin Torres hit a three-run home run.
Cypress 8, Sierra Canyon 0: Pitching, pitching and more pitching. That’s what Cypress has, and it was Drew Slevcove striking out 11 to set up a Division 1 quarterfinal showdown with Harvard-Westlake on Friday. Tyler Vladic had four hits and freshman Ivan Ortiz had three hits
Newport Harbor 4, Great Oak 1: Gavin Guy threw a complete game with nine strikeouts in a Division 2 game.
Foothill 3, Servite 0: Caden Lauridsen, younger brother of USC pitcher Gavin Lauridsen, threw a one-hit shutout in the Division 2 victory. Jaxon Foshay had a home run.
Agoura 3, Garden Grove Pacifica 0: Freshman pitcher Zach Partee threw the shutout and Tyler Starling drove in all three runs for the Chargers in Division 3.
Ganesha 5, South Hills 2: Logan Schmidt finished with four RBIs.
Dos Pueblos 10, Edison 7: Mattias Di Maggio had three hits, including a home run, to lead Dos Pueblos.
Yucaipa 17, Royal 2: Zach Scribner hit a three-run home run and finished with seven RBIs.
St. Francis 5, Cajon 2: Bobby Milton and Jake Smith each finished with two hits.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: latimes.com
