In a battle of perennial small school championship contenders, it was Redwood Christian which survived Wednesday's 12-inning marathon with Saint Mary's, emerging with a 2-1 victory to reach Saturday's North Coast Section Division IV title game.
Saint Mary's took a one-run lead in the top of the second inning, after the Panthers loaded the bases with one out on three singles. Mitch Heckmann drove in the lone run for Saint Mary's on his ground out to first base, scoring Spencer Helvig.
Panthers' pitcher Dan Colwell made the run stand up throughout his six-inning stint, but was lifted heading into the top of the seventh, after throwing 74 pitches and allowing just one hit. Had Saint Mary's held onto the lead, he would have been eligible to throw four more innings in Saturday's title game. Those thoughts never came to fruition, however.
"We were certainly glad to see (Colwell) leave the game headed into the seventh inning," said Redwood Christian coach Jim Cleveland. "He was tremendous for them and we had a hard time getting hits."
With Jack Dischinger having replaced Colwell on the mound, Cruz Costa led off with a single to left for the Eagles in the bottom of the seventh. Costa then stole second, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Christian Guzman. Dischinger came back with a pair of strikeouts, but Costa scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at one and force extra innings.
As the game wore on, Redwood Christian showcased its pitching depth. Guzman went the first four innings, and Luke Luebker struck out five in the next three innings to keep Saint Mary's off the scoreboard. Senior ace Alex Williams tossed the next four innings, striking out six on 59 pitches while not allowing a hit, before Cleveland turned to Joseph Carlton in the top of the 12th, who allowed just a walk to keep the scoreless streak intact. In all, the Eagles pitching staff tossed 10 straight scoreless innings to finish the game, and all four pitches stayed below 75 pitches, meaning all of them are available to throw on Saturday.
"Every pitcher we turned to gave us a great effort and did a great job out there," Cleveland said. "It was big that we could use all of them, and keep them all available for Saturday."
After Carlton kept the Panthers off the scoreboard in the top of the 12th, Redwood Christian finally got to Saint Mary's reliever Nic Varnis, who struck out seven in four and two-thirds innings. Williams led off the bottom of the 12th with a hard ground ball into right field, and advanced to second on Costa's sacrifice bunt. Varnis retired the second out on a fly ball to right, but then sophomore Trey Gallarzan came through with a two-out double to left, scoring Williams for the walk-off victory.
"It's a bit more special, with the game-winning hit coming from someone who had maybe 10 at-bats all season prior to this game," Cleveland added. "It just shows how important every player is for our success."
With the win, Redwood Christian will have a chance to defend its section title from last year, which was earned while playing in Division V. The Eagles face Piedmont for the championship, after the Highlanders beat Middletown in the other Division IV semifinal.
