Dos Pueblos baseball punched its ticket into the CIF-SS Division 4 Quarterfinals with a 5-4 road win over Valencia on Tuesday.
The Chargers will now host Trinity Classical Academy on Friday at 3:15 p.m. at Scott O’Leary Field.
In Tuesday’s second-round matchup, Dos Pueblos took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI double off the bat of Charlie Potter to score Zach Gesswein and a wild pitch that scored Xander Hajda.
However, Valencia bounced back with two runs of its own in the bottom courtesy of an RBI single and a run-scoring fielder’s choice.
After a scoreless second, the Vikings tacked on one run in the third to take their first lead of the day at 3-2.
The Chargers got that lead right back in the top of the fourth on a two-out, two-run double by Stone Saunders to jump out in front by a score of 4-3.
The back-and-forth play continued as Valencia answered with a run in the bottom of the fourth to even things up at 4-4 with three innings to play.
The next two frames went scoreless to send the game into the seventh inning with the two sides knotted up.
Marcus Carbajal came through for Dos Pueblos, roping an RBI single into center field to score Gesswein and give his team a late 5-4 lead.
That knock proved to be the game-winner as Derek Bruner tossed a scoreless bottom of the seventh to secure the win.
While Seth Tedeschi got the starting nod, Brunet took over and allowed one earned run in 4 ⅓ strong innings of relief.
Offensively, Gesswein and Hajda led the Chargers with two hits apiece.
La Quinta 3, Cate 2 (Div. 8)
The Rams had their season come to an end with a 3-2 loss to the Aztecs in the second round of the Division 8 playoffs on Tuesday.
It was an evenly matched battle as both teams scored in the opening inning to tie the game before La Quinta jumped ahead with two runs in the third.
Cate answered and pulled within one run on a solo homer off the bat of Peter Lehman in the middle innings.
The Rams threatened with a runner on third two different times in the seventh inning but couldn’t push the run across and ultimately suffered the loss.
Lehman and Chase Meyer led the Cate offense with three hits apiece. Lehman also got the start on the mound, striking out 10 batters in six innings of work for his final outing as a Ram.
“This one hurts, mostly because we have to say goodbye to an amazing group of kids,” Cate coach David Soto said. “These guys showed heart and fight all season and tonight was no exception. They fought and clawed all season and I hope they carry that lesson with them forever.
“I’m so proud of this team and I thank them, especially our seniors, for an amazing year.”