Baseball: Simi Valley wins in 11 innings

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It’s all over at UC Riverside, and Simi Valley has gained a hard-earned trip to Dodger Stadium to play in Friday’s Division I final.

The Pioneers won’t soon forget their 6-5, 11-inning victory over Mater Dei in Tuesday’s semifinals. After Matt Orloff broke the 5-5 tie by scoring on a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th, Mater Dei came back in the bottom of the 11th to put runners on first and second with a hit batter and single against pitcher Jonathan Meyer.

Seth Smith grounded into a force out at second. With two outs and runners on first and third, Blake Arthur lined out to Meyer to end the game.

-- Eric Sondheimer