A seventh inning comeback fell short — the potential tying run was thrown out at home — as San Marcos fell 4-3 in a semifinal rematch against Westlake Thursday, ending the top-seeded Royals’ quest for the CIF SoCal Division 3 Regional baseball championship.
The loss at home ends San Marcos’ remarkable season at 23-8 after winning the Channel League with a 12-2 record and finishing as runner-up in the CIF-SS D3 playoffs.
“Just their relentlessness and their trust in themselves, and no matter if it is the seventh inning down by two with a great team and in the other dugout, (and a) great pitcher,” San Marcos head coach Wes Ghan Gibson said. “They’re going to fight, and I’m so proud of this group.”
This was also a rematch for Westlake’s starting pitcher Dylan Volantis, who managed to gain the upper hand on the Royals’ hitters after a shaky first inning.
San Marcos’ Brad Cekada got the hitting started in the first inning with a double over the third baseman’s leaping attempt, to move Caden Hodina to third. With a play at the plate, Westlake’s shortstop sailed the throw over the catcher and Hodina scored.
It was smooth sailing for Volantis after that, only allowing one more run to score by the end of his 5.2 innings of work, with only one earned.
The scoring for Westlake came in the top of the fifth, with starting pitcher Darren Orlando giving way for reliever Erik Perez.
With runners on first and second, Westlake was able to execute a bunt that ended up loading the bases thanks to favorable placement.
Westlake was able to string together three straight hits that were able to find holes in the Royals’ infield, with one taking an unlucky bounce to score a run.
“You just got to trust your players, and you got to trust their abilities and in this game. You either push forward or you’re on your heels,” Gibson said. “There’s no way that we were going to go out on our heels.”
In the last inning, down 4-1, the Royals were able to capitalize on Westlake’s pitching change, attacking the fastball in the zone.
The seniors stepped up when Owen Estabrook lined to right field. With two down, Cole Schoenwetter produced an RBI single to make the game 4-2.
Then Mason Pettingil came up and knocked the ball past the Westlake first baseman to score a run, with the follow-up runner getting thrown out at the plate to end the game.
“In these types of games, sometimes you want you got to be the aggressor,” Gibson said. “Sometimes you got to take the chance, and it was the last one that wasn’t the right call and obviously on me.
“I think these are the most decorated, accomplished senior group to ever put on a San Marcos uniform. We talked about it with some of our staff. This was a banner season and we get to put up three new banners because of what these guys did, and those will never leave.”
The regional tournament consists of eight teams representing the Southern, Central, San Diego and L.A. City Sections.
