South Torrance falls to El Modena in D4 quarterfinals

ORANGE >> Max Sasaki tossed another gem for South Torrance, baffling El Modena with superb movement on a variety of pitches and doing more than enough to keep the home side off the scoreboard.

It wasn't enough in Friday's CIF Southern Section Division 4 quarterfinals.

The Vanguards (22-9) rode a gargantuan performance by senior lefthander Bryant Smaaladen and took advantage of South's miscues to push across a pair of unearned runs, marching into the Division 4 final four with a 2-0 triumph.

Smaaladen, who threw a three-hit shutout in El Modena's first-round victory over Adelanto, surrendered just four hits, struck out six, threw 59 of 81 pitches for strikes and didn't allow a runner past first base until the seventh inning to set up a semifinal showdown Tuesday at Tesoro (22-8), a 1-0 winner over Valencia.

Sasaki (6-3), a senior right-hander who lowered his ERA to 1.75, gave the Spartans (19-12) a chance, allowing just four hits in five innings, but three errors fueled El Modena's offense and some errant baserunning cost them opportunities.

“It was a great playoff game,” South coach Grady Sain said. “It's everything that you wanted it to be. And (baseball isn't) a perfect game, and some of the plays that we didn't make were not necessarily routine plays and I credit our guys for being aggressive enough to get to the ball and try to make plays. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way.

“We were competing all day at the plate and had some balls hit hard that just didn't find space for us. It was one of those games that was really tough. We played them right there, neck and neck, till the end and unfortunately, they got a couple more runs than we did, but man, it wasn't for the lack of effort and heart and the character of the club. We fought until the end.”

The Vanguards went ahead in the first inning.

Ryan Osso led off with a bunt single and Aaron Ceniceros followed with a could-be double-play grounder. Shortstop Olin Snakenborg overthrew his brother, Luc, at second, enabling Osso to reach third and right fielder James Broughton missed on the throw to third, giving Ceniceros second base.

Spencer Jacobs followed with a sacrifice fly to left.

Sasaki worked out of trouble in the second and fourth innings and was relieved by Noah Cardenas in the sixth. Cardenas got two quick outs, then gave up a double to Nick Santivañez. Cameron Langseth's infield pop fly should have ended the inning, but Luc Snakenborg dropped the ball as Santivañez crossed the plate.

Luc Snakenborg nearly made up for it in the seventh, when South put two runners on for the first time. He was plunked to start the inning and went to second on Tyler Steere's single. Broughton followed with a blast to deep left, which was held up by the wind, and Snakenborg -among the Spartans' fastest runners -- tagged up and tried to take third.

Left fielder Zach Barnes, brought on for his defense in the fifth inning, hit the cutoff, and Snakenborg didn't have a chance.

“We've been aggressive on the basepaths all year, and I'm not going to fault a kid for for trying to be aggressive,” Sain said.

Another potential rally had been quashed in the fifth, when Smaaladen picked off Josh Adams at first for the second out, and Olin Snakenborg was eliminated in a double play in the fourth after his second single of the afternoon.