Baseball: Crespi starting to heat up at National Classic

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Ranked No. 1 in the preseason by The Times, Encino Crespi’s baseball team started the season by struggling with some unexpected losses, but the Celts are beginning to put it together and have advanced to the semifinals of the Anderson Bat National Classic after a 7-5 victory over Esperanza Tuesday.

Crespi (8-3) will play Washington D.C. St. John’s at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Cal State Fullerton. St. John’s defeated Vista Murrieta, 9-4, in a quarterfinal game. The Celts have begun to hit, and their outstanding pitching, led by Sean Gilmartin and Ryan Hawthorne, has been steady and productive. At a minimum, they remain the Mission League favorite despite Notre Dame’s 10-0 start.

-- Eric Sondheimer