Crespi beats Notre Dame in dramatic fashion, 6-5, to win Mission League title

It was only fitting that on the final day of the regular season, with the Mission League championship at stake, neighborhood rivals Encino Crespi and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame would engage in an extra-inning baseball classic that left players, coaches and fans in an adrenaline-fueled frenzy from start to finish.

As the sun began to set Thursday, Zack Wiley of Crespi ended the game with one out in the eighth inning by delivering a line-drive single to right field to drive in Jeremy Rodriguez from second base, giving the Celts a 6-5 victory at Valley College. It was their 10th league championship under Coach Scott Muckey.

"That was way too much for this old man," Muckey said.

Muckey, it turns out, is somewhat of a prophet, saying earlier this week to "expect the unexpected" when Crespi and Notre Dame meet, and nothing was more surprising than Notre Dame (22-4, 10-2), ranked No. 1 by The Times, scoring two runs in the seventh to tie the score against supposedly unbeatable closer Sean Gilmartin, who had 19 career saves, had not blown a save in two years and was celebrating his 18th birthday.

"It happens," Gilmartin said.

Notre Dame's No. 8 and 9 hitters, Tim Reigel and Casey Ryan, got singles to start the inning. Then Kelly Dugan contributed an RBI single and Trevor Gee followed with a game-tying sacrifice fly.

"They just did a great job against him," Muckey said. "They hit some good pitches."

It forced Muckey to bring Ryan Hawthorne back to the mound in the eighth after Hawthorne had thrown 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief. He threw another shutout inning, setting the stage for the third-ranked Celts (22-5, 11-1) to pull out the victory.

Rodriguez got a one-out double. Ryon Healy was given an intentional walk, and then Wiley sent a 2-and-2 pitch into right field against sophomore pitcher David Armendariz, who had been brilliant in relief, throwing four shutout innings and allowing only one hit until the eighth inning.

The game was full of drama and big plays.

In the first inning, when Crespi scored three runs, Cal State Fullerton-bound second baseman Carlos Lopez was ejected after running over catcher Hayden Hunter while trying to score. Hunter, an all-league linebacker for the Knights, was a couple of feet in front of the plate waiting for the throw when Lopez knocked him down. Lopez ended up scoring, but because of the ejection, he must sit out Crespi's Southern Section Division III playoff opener next Friday.

Healy, a sophomore first baseman, had a two-run single in the first inning and a run-scoring double in the third. Wiley, a junior outfielder, had two hits and two RBIs.

Reigel, a junior center fielder, finished with three hits for Notre Dame. Ryan, a junior second baseman, was dazzling as a fielder. And Armendariz kept his team in the game by producing outs from the fourth through seventh innings.

Afterward, Hawthorne put the rivalry game in perspective.

"Anything goes," he said.

Crespi needed to sweep the Knights in a two-game series this week to take the league title and it accomplished the feat, though as Gilmartin learned, nothing is ever certain.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com