Baseball: El Camino Real reaches City final with 3-1 win over Birmingham

El Camino Real is headed back to Dodger Stadium to defend its City Section Division I title.

The No. 2-seeded Conquistadores (27-7) scored three runs in the fourth inning en route to a 3-1 win over Birmingham in the Division I semifinals on Tuesday night at USC. They will face No. 1-seeded Chatsworth on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Dodger Stadium.

Jose Campos broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run single off Isaac Meza.

Jeremy Polon threw six innings, retiring 11 consecutive batters until giving up a leadoff walk to start the seventh inning. That’s when Coach Josh Lienhard pulled his All-City pitcher in favor of the Conquistadores’ new star closer, junior Elan Filous.

A junior varsity pitcher last season, Filous has become a key player. He got a strikeout, gave up an infield single, struck out the next batter and then ended the game by getting Ryan Mendoza to fly out.

“We call him Bulldog,” Lienhard said. “He comes after guys.”

A year ago, El Camino Real won the City title because its No. 3 pitcher, Matt Malconian, came through in relief roles. Now Filous is trying to assume the same role.

“I just want to be the guy and am glad Coach Lienhard has given me the opportunity to do this,” he said.

Filous comes in and throws strikes and loves the pressure.

“It’s made me thrive and given me more energy,” he said.

As for playing rival Chatsworth, All-City catcher Eric Yang said, “It will be a dogfight.”

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