Temescal Canyon finds its match in top-seeded Bonita
LAKE ELSINORE » Score one for the cliche’.
Good pitching has endlessly been said to stop good hitting. That’s precisely how it played out Saturday as Bonita’s Brooklyn Shroyer quieted Temescal Canyon’s potent lineup, pitching the Bearcats to a 4-1 victory in a Division 3 semifinal.
Top seed Bonita (26-5-1) will make its first title-game appearance in 43 years Friday or Saturday at Barber Park in Irvine. The Bearcats will face the winner of Monday’s game between St. Anthony and Tesoro.
The numbers coming into Saturday’s semifinal were stark. Bonita had allowed fewer than a run per game during a 14-game unbeaten streak. Temescal Canyon (22-6) had averaged more than 14 runs per game over a 15-game win streak.
Temescal Canyon, which had rallied to knock off two teams ranked in the division’s top 10, had its chances, but in three critical situations, Shroyer had the answers. Twice she escaped unscathed after allowing the first two batters to reach.
The most important of those came in the fifth with Bonita clinging to a 2-1 lead. After the first two batters reached, a sacrifice put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. It also brought up Jenna Peters, who had driven in 60 runs this season.
Shroyer pitched in on the hands to induce a soft liner to second, then retired cleanup hitter Alexis Ellenwood to end the threat.
“We didn’t want her (Peters) to extend, so we wanted to come inside,” Bonita coach Darren Baumunk said. “We knew she was real good inside but we wanted to change it up on her so she wouldn’t be seeing the same look.”
Shroyer was solid early in the season but has become a better pitcher in the second half of the season as she and first-year coach Baumunk have each found their comfort zone.
“I think I’ve learned to trust my defense more,” Shroyer said. “That’s made it a lot easier.”
Baumunk has gotten a better feel for calling Shroyer’s pitches.
“I’m still trying to feel what works best,” he said. “We’ve been throwing the rise. That’s totally my fault for not using it more earlier.”
Bonita took advantage of a rock-hard infield to score twice in the second. A bad hop single and a hard shot off the glove of third baseman Ellenwood opened the rally, and the runs came home on a single by Aries Alonso and Alyssa Doucette’s grounder.
Given Temescal’s two comeback victories, insurance was needed and came in the sixth. It looked like Temescal might escape after getting Kailey Scott at the plate for the second out, but Bryce Shroyer kept the inning alive with a single. Then Alonso delivered a two-run double.
Marissa Sanchez and and Haley Garcia doubled in the third for the Titans’ lone run.
“That (Bonita) is a great team,” Temescal coach Christina Goldberg said. “Take nothing away from them. But I’m so proud of the way this team kept fighting.”