Baseball: Mater Dei, Simi Valley go to the ninth inning

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Mater Dei and fourth-seeded Simi Valley are headed into the ninth inning of their Southern Section-Toyota Division I semifinal tied at 5-5 after a dramatic bottom of the eighth.

Mater Dei loaded the bases with two outs on two hits and an intentional walk. Brian Frattali hit a ground ball to shortstop Kyle Raskin, who bobbled the ball, then threw to first to barely get out Frattali for the third out.

Simi Valley breathed a sigh of relief. Mater Dei’s Matt Blanchard is back on the mound. He has been pitching since the sixth.

This is familiar territory for Mater Dei, which won its quarterfinal game over Los Alamitos in nine innings.

-- Eric Sondheimer