The remarkable end-of-season run for Carpinteria baseball came to an end Tuesday with an 11-7 second round CIF-SS Division 6 playoff loss to Norwalk Tuesday at Calderwood Field.
The Warriors didn’t give up without a fight. Down 9-3 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, Carpinteria scored four runs, capped by a towering two-run home run to right field by Erich Goebel that made the score 9-7.
However, Norwalk tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
Goebel paced the offense for the Warriors, adding a single and a walk to the homer and scoring twice. Matt Muñoz, Beto Martinez and Joaquin Ramirez each had two hits against fireballer Gabriel Cancino of Norwalk.
“It was an exciting game at a great venue with a community of fans in the seats to support the team,” Warrior coach Pat Cooney said. “The finality of losing the CIF setting is tough to deal with emotionally, as our players thought they could win until that final out was recorded.”
The Lancers are now 23-4 overall and ran the table in the Mid-Cities League at 15-0. They pitched well and applied offensive pressure throughout their lineup, Cooney said.
The Warriors finish 13-9 overall, and 10-8 in the Citrus Coast League, for second place. They were languishing in fifth place in the CCL three weeks ago before going on a five-game winning streak that included a must-win over Malibu and two must-win games over league champion Santa Paula. They won a first-round playoff game at Desert Christian.
“We tip our caps to the Lancers and wish them well, but today’s loss will not have an affect on our positive feelings towards this particular group,” Cooney said.
“A common theme from each of our coaches is that we feel grateful. The body of work each team member put in, the support the team received from so many sources, and the cohesiveness of the group were really special. The seniors can be especially proud of how they led this year and their development as good people over their time here.
“Of course, the loss stings today. However, it won’t be long before we forget all of the scores of the games this year. We will not forget the people that made it a great season.”