It’s crunch time in the race for the Channel League baseball title, and first-place San Marcos is trying to hold off Santa Barbara High and Buena to win a third straight crown.
The Royals endured a marathon 11-inning battle against Santa Barbara to inch a little closer to the title.
Brendan Cekada hit a one-out double into the right-field corner and Owen Estabrook brought him home with a two-out single to left, lifting San Marcos to a 6-5 victory before a full house at Eddie Matthews Field.
The win puts San Marcos at 10-1 in league (16-5 overall), two games ahead of second-place Buena (8-3, 16-7) with three to play. Santa Barbara falls into third place at 7-4 (12-11).
The Royals and Dons meet again on Friday at San Marcos.
San Marcos coach Wes Ghan Gibson was thrilled to come away with a victory on a special day for high school baseball in Santa Barbara.
He said Cekada was 0 for 5 at the plate before delivering the huge double in the 11th.
“He hung in there and he was able to fight,” said Ghan Gibson of his three-year varsity starter.
“That’s what this game is all about, fighting, fighting to the last bit. That was as taxing of a game on any team I’ve been a part of.
“(Santa Barbara) is very good. They are very scrappy. I’m proud to be on this field and to be a part of something so special. This is beautiful, Santa Barbara rivalry baseball. It doesn’t get much better than that, and we’re lucky we came out on the winning end of it now.”
Santa Barbara coach Steve Schuck said, “It was a beautiful game. It was a well-fought game. We gave some stuff away, they gave something away, but I tell you what, that pitcher (starter Cole Schoenwetter) they have on the mound is no slouch. I give him all the credit in the world. But I want to give my hitters all the credit in the world, too, for battling.
“They competed in the box against him. That’s a potential first rounder (draft pick) and my guys didn’t back down, so they need to be recognized as well.”
The Dons scored four runs off Schoenwetter in the second inning. Liam Keithley drew a lead-off walk and scored on a one-out triple to center by freshman Jetner Welch. After a fly out, Tomas Gil was walked and Dane Dawson reached base on an error, allowing Welch to score. Kai Mault followed with a two-run double to left for a 4-0 lead.
San Marcos came back with a run in the third against Santa Barbara starter Keithley. Steven Bradley went to third an infield throwing error and scored on a single by Caden Hodina.
The Royals then erupted for four runs in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead. They capitalized on three infield errors and four hits. Hodina hit a two-run double and Patrick Kelly singled in a run.
“A couple of bounces here and a couple of bounces there and we’re celebrating over here,” said Schuck. “I thought Liam pitched wonderful today. He stayed under 100 (pitches), which is good. Defense, a couple of balls we field cleanly, it’s a whole different story.”
Keithley pitched eight innings and allowed five runs (four unearned) and eight hits. He struck out four, walked one and hit a batter
“I was giving him 100 (pitches), he finished with 99 and his arm was fine. His velo didn’t go down,” said Schuck. “It’s hard to take that type of person out of the lineup with that mentality and that bulldog. His tempo was good all eight innings.”
Kiké Ramirez pitched the ninth, 10th and 11th. He allowed one run on two hits and two walks and struck out two.
With several pro baseball scouts on hand, San Marcos’ Schoenwetter pitched 6.2 innings and struck out eight, walked five and hit two batters. He gave up five runs and seven hits.
Ghan Gibson said his hard-throwing right-hander wasn’t sharp but he showed toughness in hanging in there against a good hitting team in a hostile environment.
“There was no doubt when he got back up there and he got hit a little bit that he was just going to keep going,” said Ghan Gibson. “He wanted this more than I can tell you guys. There was no pitch count. I was letting him go till the end, no matter what.
“It ended up being a longer game than we hoped. But if that’s what it takes to get the win, that’s what it takes. But it was his ball to start. There was no question about it. He was going to do everything he could. I was not taking the ball away from him. I couldn’t live with myself if I did.”
Schoenwetter was lifted after walking Mault and Zane Lee-Paulick with two outs in the sixth. He started the inning by hitting Tomas Gil, but Gil was caught stealing by Estabrook, the San Marcos catcher.
Eric Perez came in and got a strikeout to end the sixth. He pitched the seventh and eighth and was lifted after walking Keithley with two outs in the ninth.
Hodina took over and walked Cal Wipf before striking out the next batter looking.
The Dons threatened in the 10th as Grady Wilson led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Gil. Hodina got a strikeout before issuing an intentional walk to Mault and then ended the inning with another strikeout.
He notched his fourth strikeout while retiring the Dons in order in the bottom of the 11th to earn the win and put San Marcos closer to the league title.