Laguna Beach wins CIF wild-card game on walk-off home run
It took one swing Tuesday to keep the postseason hopes alive for the Laguna Beach High baseball team.
Sophomore Steven Harrison provided the dramatics for Laguna when he delivered a home run to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift the Breakers to a 5-4 victory over visiting Victor Valley in a CIF Southern Section Division 4 wild-card game.
Harrison’s walk-off blast, which came with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh, sent Laguna to a first-round game Thursday in Pasadena against La Salle. The score wasn’t available at press time. The Lancers (18-7-1) won the Del Rey League title and are the division’s No. 2-seed, behind top-ranked Palmdale.
The winner moves on to face either St. Bonaventure or San Dimas in a second-round game at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Tuesday’s playoff win was the fifth straight victory for Laguna, which won for the 11th time in its last 13 outings.
“Steven loves those moments and the entire team believed he was going to come up clutch for us,” Laguna Coach Mike Bair said of his catcher, who was an All-Orange Coast League player as a freshman. “As soon as the ball cleared the fence, we went crazy in the dugout. It was a great moment.”
There were several great moments during Tuesday’s comeback win for the Breakers, who trailed, 3-0, after half an inning. They pulled to within 3-1 at the end of one and still trailed, 4-2, through three. They drew even after scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
“We got down in the first and just chipped away all game long,” Bair said. “We were clutch today and fought strong for seven innings. A great team win.”
Harrison wasn’t the only Breaker to come up big offensively. Senior Alex Iannotti also homered and had two runs batted in during a three-for-three performance. Sophomore Preston GrandPre doubled and went two for three with an RBI, sophomore Grant Wilhelm had two hits, juniors Blake Hester and Robbie McInerny both singled and junior Larry Stewart had an RBI.
Laguna outhit the Jackrabbits, 10-6.
Wilhelm started on the mound for the Breakers, but it was Kurt Rebone (4-2) who picked up the win. The junior didn’t allow a run and struck out four in 2 2/3 innings.
The Breakers concluded regular season play May 10 and scored a 16-2 Orange Coast League win over host Saddleback. Harrison also homered in that game, doubled and drove in two runs in a three-for-four game. Junior Jackson Rees struck out five and ran his record to 6-3.
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Softball
A season of firsts for the Laguna softball program came to an end Tuesday in a CIF Southern Section Division 5 wild-card game. The Breakers fell, 12-3, to visiting Silverado of Victorville at Thurston Middle School.
Junior catcher Kennedi Gherardini went two for three with a double and triple, sophomore outfielder Veronica Clancy had a hit and walked once, and senior first baseman Samantha Purl had an RBI single for the Breakers.
Laguna committed two errors in the first inning, which helped the Hawks (12-8, Desert Sky League at-large) score four runs. In the bottom of the inning, the Breakers got a run back when freshman Halle Redfearn drew a lead-off walk, stole second and scored on a triple by Gherardini.
The Breakers, who were down, 8-1, didn’t score again until the fourth when freshman Jen Sorenson scored on a Clancy single. They scored their final run in the fifth when Gherardini hit a lead-off double and came home on Purl’s single.
“(The) coaches knew going into this that we had a tough draw facing a school with 4,000 kids and 75 girls in their softball program,” Laguna first-year Coach Alan Ludloff said. “Silverado was definitely one of the better teams we have ever faced, strong offensively, and made some great defensive plays. Our girls never quit and the energy and support they gave their teammates for seven innings showed the character that this team is made of.”
Laguna wrapped up its regular season and third place in the Orange Coast League on May 10 by pounding visiting Saddleback, 18-3. The game was called (mercy rule) after the top of the fifth inning.
Laguna ended its year 15-8. The 15 wins are a school single-season record, Ludloff said, adding that the 2012 Breakers also are the first team in program history to host a home playoff game.
Twitter: @MikeSciacca