JSerra routs Hart to reach the semifinals
Lions score 11 runs in the first three innings and avenge a loss from last season’s playoffs.
It’s not every day that teenagers get to make amends after one of their most demoralizing sports moments. A year ago, San Juan Capistrano JSerra was the No. 1 prep baseball team in America. It traveled to Newhall and lost to Hart, 10-6, in the Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals.
“I was crying. I was real upset,” JSerra third baseman Royce Lewis said.
Fast forward to Friday afternoon. The Lions, seeded No. 1 in Division 1, made another 90-mile trip to Newhall in the quarterfinals. They were so superstitious that instead of traveling by bus (their coach’s record is 0-4 with buses), they ordered five vans.
Whether it was for revenge, redemption or retribution, the Lions made sure their trip ended differently.
They scored 11 runs in the first three innings en route to a 13-1 victory. They needed their star pitcher, sidearmer Collin Quinn (12-0), to make just 41 pitches and throw four innings. The Lions took advantage of five wild pitches, six walks and 14 hits off four Hart pitchers.
They will face Studio City Harvard-Westlake in a semifinal game Tuesday at Blair Field in Long Beach.
Quinn probably will get to pitch the semifinal after he barely worked up a sweat. He retired nine of the first 10 batters, with only a hit batter getting on base.
“We were really focused,” said Lewis, a junior who had a double, RBI single and RBI sacrifice fly.
“That guy is a first-round draft choice,” Hart Coach Jim Ozella said. “He plays at a different level and a different speed.”
Brady Shockey, Micah Pries, Mark Manskar and Colin Townsend each had two hits.
“We put some pressure on them,” JSerra Coach Brett Kay said. “It seemed like every button we pushed went our way.”
Harvard-Westlake upset No. 4-seeded Cypress, 5-2. Leo Kaplan hit a three-run home run in the first inning. Cameron Deere threw six innings.
Valencia West Ranch also earned a spot in the Division 1 semifinals with a 2-1 win over No. 2-seeded Lake Forest El Toro. Tim Josten, a junior pitcher committed to Cal State Fullerton, struck out five and gave up five hits.
He took a 2-0 lead into the seventh, then had to escape a bases-loaded jam to help the Wildcats win for the 17th time in their last 18 games.”
In Division 2, top-seeded Redondo defeated Culver City, 9-2. Jacob Springman hit a three-run home run.
In Division 3, Jeremiah Estrada, a junior committed to UCLA, struck out 13 in Palm Desert’s 5-1 win over El Segundo.