Both Justin Bruce and Lucas Erceg brought their 'A' games Thursday night as Willow Glen edged out Westmont 1-0 in a battle of the aces for a spot in the Division II CCS finals. Each pitcher kept batters off balance for the entire game, but Bruce got the upper hand in the duel and came away with the victory, his ninth of the season.
“That was a great game. We lost to them twice, same pitchers, so I knew it was going to be a close game, one run game. I hit my spots a lot better than usual, every pitch felt great,” said Bruce. “In the bullpen I felt great, so I told the coaches today was going to be one of my better days, all my pitches were working, I just felt good.”
Bruce (9-6, 1.68 ERA), Willow Glen’s senior ace fanned a phenomenal 10 batters while only surrendering three hits over seven innings of work. For Westmont, Erceg (9-2, 0.55 ERA) went the distance as well, striking out seven, but also allowing seven hits. The game’s only run was unearned.
Willow Glen came away with the game's only run in the fifth inning. Leadoff hitter Matt Toscano singled to start the inning, and reached second base on a passed ball. Following a key groundball to the right side by second baseman Kenny Corey, three-hole hitter John Riley flied out to deep left, allowing Toscano to tag up and score.
“I was just really pumped, I knew that the game would be close, and once we scored, I just felt we had the momentum and we were going to win,” said Toscano.
Bruce also helped himself out at the plate. Although he did not bring home any runs, he tallied three base hits in three plate appearances. His performance throughout the season has been invaluable to coach Michael Riley.
“Justin has been, for a lack of a better word, a warrior for three years. He’s pitched on varsity for three years, and this is probably the best game he’s pitched,” said Riley.
Westmont’s only hits came off the bats of the Hearn brothers, J.D. and Matty, and left fielder Dominic Zucca. The Warriors stranded runners in scoring position in the first and third innings, and only had four hitters reach base the entire game.
Westmont won the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mount Hamilton "A" Division for the first time in school history during the regular season, and defeated Willow Glen in the three regular-season meetings. Despite the loss, coach Tony Pianto commended his team on their excellent season.
“I’m very proud of them, we had a great supporting cast of seniors, but we also have some younger kids which is really nice,” said Pianto. “I’m proud of them, they came out and fought, they wanted it. The integrity, the commitment, the dedication is huge.”
Willow Glen looks to take home the Division II CCS crown Saturday against St. Ignatius.
“We just told [Saint Ignatius] we were the best public school team. We scrimmaged with them, we know them, they know us, it should be fun,” said Riley. “I kind of hope (Matt) Krook pitches. We’ve got a really good pitcher going, we’ll see how it goes.”
The Rams will most likely see Jonathan Hernandez (2-0, 0.42 ERA) starting for Saint Ignatius, while Willow Glen expects to throw Kenny Corey (6-1, 0.99). The game will take place at Municipal Stadium in San José with first pitch scheduled for 1 pm.
