Carpinteria High baseball came from behind to earn a 6-5 extra-inning win over Channel Islands on Wednesday in Oxnard.
With the victory, the Warriors (15-5, 7-4 Citrus Coast League) punched their ticket into the CIF-SS playoffs with a third-place finish in their league.
Channel Islands built up a 5-0 lead after three innings, but Carpinteria chipped away with a run in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the sixth to cut the deficit to 5-4.
In the top of the seventh, Noah Morente led off with a bunt single and came around to score on a game-tying double off the bat of Charlotte Cooney.
After Gabe Martinez tossed a scoreless bottom of the seventh, the Warriors took their first lead of the day when Brayden Real roped a go-ahead RBI single to score Micah Smith, who doubled earlier in the frame.
Martinez then slammed the door in the eighth, earning his third win of the season. While he closed out the victory, Dallas Bartholic got the starting nod and went 3 ⅓ before handing it off to Cooney, who twirled 2 ⅔ scoreless frames.
Cooney also led the offensive attack with two hits, two RBI and a run scored. Meanwhile, Bartholic, Martinz and Real all had two hits as well.
“It was not the start we wanted. Channel Islands came to play and they taught us an early lesson about preparation,” Carpinteria High head coach Pat Cooney said. “Fortunately, we have enough positive leadership among the players that they rallied the group, made some adjustments, and refused to lose. The players deserve the credit for righting the ship.
“It feels great to have achieved the goal of making the playoffs. The Citrus Coast League is really competitive and grinding through to the opportunity took some real perseverance by the players.”
The Warriors will host Channel Islands at Calderwood Field on Friday.
