It would be easy to chalk up El Dorado’s presence in the Diamond Sports National Classic as a simple case of the host team mixing it up with some of the top teams in the country. But that type of thinking only diminishes the achievements of a strong program that is making its fourth championship game appearance in the last 14 years following a 2-1 semifinal victory over Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) on Wednesday at CSU Fullerton’s Goodwin Field.
El Dorado (Placentia, Calif.) will take on Crespi (Encino, Calif.), which held off Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) 7-6 in the other semifinal to advance to the championship game for the second time in three seasons. Crespi won the National Classic in 2008.
El Dorado won two close games over IMG Academies (Bradenton, Fla.), 3-2, and Palos Verdes Peninsula (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.), 5-4 to face Edison in the semifinals. The Chargers began the season with an impressive resume, including a No. 1 state ranking by CalHiSports, a No. 1 national ranking by MaxPreps and a No. 1 ranking in Southern California by the Los Angeles Times.
The Golden Hawks had no such rankings or similar expectations entering the season, but they received an outstanding pitching effort from sophomore Cameron Yen, who gave up just one run on five hits in picking up the complete game 2-1 victory. Cameron Yen allowed a leadoff single by Edison’s Eric Snyder, who stole second base and scored on a double by A.j. Libunao.
However, the Chargers were never able to piece together another rally the rest of the game. Following A.j. Libunao’s double, Cameron Yen faced just three batters over the minimum the remainder of the game, including a perfect fifth, sixth and seventh inning. He struck out three batters and walked only one.
El Dorado (Placentia, Calif.) scored once in the first inning and again in the third for the only runs it needed. Freshman Chris Rivera singled to lead off the first and scored on a single by Drew Luther. In the third, Brennan Fulkerson singled and scored all the way from first base on Adam Velez’s long double to right field.
The Golden Hawks had a chance to blow the game open in the late innings, but they stranded two runners in the fifth inning and left the bases loaded in the sixth without scoring a run in either frame.
El Dorado (Placentia, Calif.) will take on Crespi (Encino, Calif.) tonight at 7 p.m. at CSU Fullerton. The Celts broke open a close game against Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) and held off a late rally by the Lancers to advance to the final.
Crespi (Encino, Calif.) 7, Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) 6
The Celts scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning for a 7-3 lead and then withstood a furious rally by the Lancers to hold on for the 7-6 victory.
Alex Gonzalez had a two-run single and Michael Hubbard and Ryon Healy both scored on bases loaded walks to break a 3-3 tie and give the Celts a four-run lead.
Cody Nulph led off the bottom of the seventh for Lutheran with a double. One out later, Chase Harrison singled home Cody Nulph. Chase Harrison later scored on a groundout and Zach Verlaan walked and scored on Dillon Bryant’s double to cut Crespi (Encino, Calif.)’s lead to one run.
However, the next batter flied out to right field to end the threat and put the Celts into the championship game. Cody Nulph finished with a pair of doubles for Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) while Chase Harrison and Willie Shaw each had a two-bagger and Brandon Turner had a triple.
Marin Catholic (Kentfield, Calif.) 2, West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.) 1
Perhaps no team has been more influential in this year’s National Classic than Marin Catholic (Kentfield, Calif.), although it certainly wasn’t intentional says Mike Firenzi.
The Wildcats switched to wood bats earlier this year when teammate Gunner Sandberg was hit in the head with a line drive off a metal bat. Firenzi says he notified the officials at the National Classic that they would be using wooden bats during the tournament and it started a chain reaction.
“We just wanted to let them know that it was something we were doing and all of the other coaches decided to go along with it,” said Firenzi. “This whole experience here has been phenomenal. The level of talent here is so high and it’s exactly what we were looking for. We’re used to being a big fish in a small pond, but down here we are a little fish in the big pond.”
While the Wildcats may be getting used to their small fish status, that hasn’t stopped them from picking up two wins in the National Classic, including a 2-1 win over West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.) in a consolation matchup. Marin Catholic (Kentfield, Calif.) scored two runs in the first inning and made that early lead stick.
The Wildcats will play Palm Desert (Palm Desert, Calif.), which defeated IMG Academies (Bradenton, Fla.) 3-2, in the consolation finals at 4 p.m. at El Dorado High School.
Nate Kristoff started the first-inning rally for Marin Catholic (Kentfield, Calif.) with the first of his three singles on the day. After Ian Lam was hit by a pitch, Nate Kristoff scored on a basehit by Andrew Traver. Ian Lam scored the second run of the inning when he scored just ahead of the third out on a rundown during a double steal attempt.
Ryan Lynch kept West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.) off the basepaths for the first six innings, facing just four batters over the minimum during that stretch. The Wildcat defense helped him out by turning two double plays behind him. When Nate Kristoff took the mound in the seventh, the defense added a third double play and got out of a bases-loaded jam when the final batter popped up to the catcher to end the game.
The game had a scary moment just before the final out when a line drive went right back at Nate Kristoff, who knocked the ball down but was unable to get the runner at first base. The line-drive back up the middle was similar to the one that struck down Gunner Sandberg nearly a month ago.
“Those kinds of plays happen with any bat you use,” said Firenzi. “But with the wood bat, Nate Kristoff had a couple of tenths of a second extra to get his glove up and deflect the ball.”
Firenzi said that Gunner Sandberg is recovering from his injury little by little.
“Every day he gets a little bit better,” he said.
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 7, Notre Dame Prep (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 1
A pair of teams that lost just one game between them in last year’s National Classic met in a consolation bracket game Wednesday morning at Esperanza High School. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) won last year’s National Classic while Notre Dame Prep (Scottsdale, Ariz.) lost just once and finished as consolation champions. This year, the two teams lost their first two games prior to Wednesday’s meeting.
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) received an outstanding mound effort from Cory Hahn to pick up the 7-1 victory over the Saints. Hahn had a perfect game through four innings before giving up a senior to start the fifth inning. He finished with a three-hitter while striking out six.
Meanwhile the Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) offense racked up two runs in the third inning and five more in the fourth to essentially put the game away. Four Notre Dame Prep (Scottsdale, Ariz.) errors led to four runs while back-to-back singles by Derek Campbell and Cory Hahn in the fourth sparked the rally.
Derek Campbell had a double and a single to lead the Monarch offense while Aj Roth also had a double.
In other games Wednesday, Bishop Amat (La Puente, Calif.) defeated Palos Verdes Peninsula (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) 2-0 and Salpointe Catholic (Tucson, Ariz.) topped Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) 3-2 to advance to the fifth place game at 10 a.m. at El Dorado High School. Palos Verdes Peninsula (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) and Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) will play in the seventh place game at 10 a.m. at Esperanza High School. Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) meet in the third-place game at 1 p.m. at El Dorado.
