The Pacific Grove baseball team moved one step closer to its first CCS title since 1998 with a 3-2 victory over Carmel Tuesday afternoon in a CCS Division III semifinal at San Jose Municipal Stadium. The ninth-seeded Breakers (19-10) advance to meet Menlo in the championship game Saturday at San Jose Municipal Stadium. Second-seeded Menlo (22-7) reached the final with an 8-2 win over No. 3 Monte Vista Christian (25-5). Carmel ended its season with a 20-10 mark.
Junior pitcher Conyal Cody led the way for Pacific Grove, notching the win on the mound with nine strikeouts and hitting a two-run double in the third inning that put the Breakers up 3-1. Carmel scratched a run back in the bottom of the sixth to pull within 3-2, but Cody limited the damage and was able to close the game out. Both teams managed just five hits in a well-pitched contest.
In the other semifinal, Menlo broke up a 2-2 tie with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. After co-captain Freddy Avis put the Knights ahead, 3-2, with a booming triple, fellow co-captain Jake Batchelder delivered a two-run single to increase Menlo's lead to 5-2. Will King then followed with a bloop single to score another run and Menlo added two runs in the sixth to expand the cushion to 8-2.
