Timely two-strike hitting from Joe Yorke, and a Herculean effort on the mound from pitcher Josh Seward were both critical on Wednesday afternoon as Archbishop Mitty outlasted Westmont, 1-0, in the first round of the CCS Division II baseball playoffs.
It appeared like Mitty had a great shot at winning the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, as the Monarchs loaded the bases with one out, but Westmont pitcher Austin Tremelling refused to yield, striking out Arthur Soto for the second out of the inning. Jonah Advincula then hit a sinking line drive to right field, on Tremelling’s 111th pitch of the game, but Cody Jewett made an amazing diving catch to send the game into extra innings.
“Both starting pitchers were fantastic, and (Jewett) just made an amazing play to end the seventh,” said Mitty coach Brian Yocke. “The tempo of the game was just incredible, and it kept both defenses sharp, and led to a very well-played baseball game. Josh (Seward) has been our workhorse all year, and gone deep into games all season. He was everything we needed in this one.”
Seward got stronger as the game wore on, evidenced by three straight strikeouts to end the top of the eighth inning, following a leadoff walk. That took him to his max pitch count for the game, but the bullpen would never come into play. Nick Yorke was hit by a pitch with one out in the bottom of the eighth, facing Westmont reliever Giovanni Besio, and Miguel Cebedo followed with a single to right field.
That brought up Joe Yorke, who fouled off two pitches before taking a 2-2 offering into right field, with brother Nick racing home with the winning run.
“When guys do things the right way, the baseball gods put you in the right situations,” Yocke said. “He was initially looking to drive something, early in the at-bat, but converted to a great two-strike approach, just looking to put the ball in play.”
The winning run in the eighth spoiled a tremendous start from Tremelling, who allowed just five hits. Seward was even better, however, allowing just three hits while striking out 10 batters.
“We warned our guys beforehand that (Tremelling) was a great competitor with great stuff,” Yocke added. “We put together better, quality at-bats later in the game, but he did a great job keeping us off-balance.”
Westmont nearly got on the scoreboard early in the game, after Tremelling led off the top of the second with a double. Two batters later, Armis Morris lined the ball into right-center, where Jared Reupert cut the ball off before the gap and relayed it back to Cebedo, who fired a strike home to catcher Tommy Splaine, who tagged Tremelling out and kept the shutout intact.
Mitty advances to face Burlingame in the quarterfinals. The Panthers routed Aptos, 14-0, in a five-inning game on Wednesday.
Los Altos cruises past Alisal
Playing in the rugged SCVAL-De Anza Division all season paid dividends for Los Altos on Wednesday afternoon, as the Eagles cruised past MBL-Pacific champion Alisal, 9-0.
Los Altos got four shutout innings from ace Alex Reelfs, who needed just 68 pitches and will be available again on Saturday against Mountain View after staying below the 75-pitch threshold. Ryan Baum tossed the final three scoreless innings for the Eagles, who got three hits from Colin Homan and four RBI from Keenan Hanley in the victory.
Around the CCS playoffs
Pioneer pitcher Mason Mooney struck out nine and allowed just three hits in a complete game, 5-0 victory over Monterey. Ian Torpey had two hits, including a double, to lead the offense. The Mustangs will face Saint Francis in the Division II quarterfinals.
Max Pierce drove in three runs, as Gilroy scored five runs in the first inning and cruised to the 8-0 win over King City. The Mustangs now face cross-town rival Christopher in the Division II quarterfinals. Christopher downed Hillsdale, 6-2, as Andrew Kachel doubled twice and drove in five runs.
Leigh led early, but Saratoga scored three times in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull out a 3-2 victory. Consecutive run-scoring at-bats from Chris Auches, Nathan Peng, and Charles Debling led to the victory. Peng also tossed a complete game, striking out nine and allowing just four hits. Saratoga now faces Soledad, who blanked Prospect, 10-0.
Trevor Johannes had two hits, including a home run, to lead Leland past Cupertino, 4-1, in the Division I bracket. The Chargers now face Carlmont, who outlasted Alvarez, 3-2, in 12 innings. David Bedrosian singled in the winning run for the Scots.
