Southern Section 3-A : Canyon Throws Game Away, 5-4

Before Tuesday’s Southern Section 3-A playoff game against Canyon High School, Troy Coach Arvin Sethman called his baseball diamond a difficult place for pitchers. Sethman meant that his pocket-sized outfield tends to promote home runs.

But the idea that Troy could be a pitching purgatory gained new meaning in Friday’s tumultuous game. First, Warrior starter Mike Greer came within one strike of finishing off the Comanches--only to witness Eric DeGraw’s solo homer, which lifted the game into extra innings with the score tied, 3-3.

But the pitching rubber transformed into the Bermuda Rectangle under the feet of Canyon reliever Wayne Elmore. His throwing error to first base and a wild pitch allowed Troy to redeem itself with a 5-4 victory after two runs scored with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

“Baseball is a wacky game, and this proves it,” said Troy outfielder Tony Godfrey, who singled, took third on the error, and joyfully scored the bizarre winning run when Elmore’s pitch to Dan Vivier nosedived into the dirt.

“I’m sure that Greer would like to have that (home run) pitch back and I’m sure Wayne would like to have that throw back,” said Canyon’s Hi Lavalle, coach of the defending Southern Section 3-A champions (20-4-1). “We were not prepared to lose, (but) it seems like you make one slip-up at this level and you’re finished.”

And so it was that Troy (14-11), the former Freeway League baseball power that missed the playoffs by one game the past two seasons, scrambled into the quarterfinals, a Cinderella by any definition. The second-place Warriors’ opponent on Friday will be Valle Vista League champion Edgewood (24-3), a 12-2 winner against Hart.

The first six innings of Tuesday’s game gave every indication of boiling down to an unexpected pitching duel between Greer and Leonard Damian, neither of whom received the decision in the end.

The difference in reputation and technique were marked--Damian’s arm has been an Orange County landmark among professional scouts for several seasons, while Greer is a relatively unsung junior, pitching his first season after being converted from utility infielder.

But their effectiveness was nearly the same. In fact, through the sixth inning, Damian had given up seven hits to Greer’s four, and each had six strikeouts. Greer, however, evidenced the junior jitters by walking as many batters--three--as he fanned in the second inning.

But nobody scored until the third inning when DeGraw led off with a double, advanced on an out, and scored when shortstop Mark Crissinger mishandled Kevin Taylor’s grounder.

Troy managed to tie the game, 1-1, in the fourth as Bill St. Clair singled to score Steve Russell. The Warriors claimed a 3-1 advantage in the fifth as Jeff DeJesse and Russell came home when a double by Crissinger seemed to evade DeGraw, the Comanche fielder stranded in shallow left.

Canyon pulled to within a run at 3-2 in the sixth. Taylor singled with one out, swiped his second base, fled to third on a long fly ball by Damian, and scored on Pete Weber’s line drive to right field.

In other 3-A playoff action:

Sunny Hills 6, Leuzinger 1--Paul Abbott pitched a three-hitter and struck out 10 as the Lancers downed the Olympians in a second-round game at Leuzinger. With the win, Abbott improved his record to 11-2. Sunny Hills (22-5) plays host to Gahr in a quarterfinal game on Friday.

Downey 5, Western 4--The Pioneers had the bases loaded in the seventh with no outs but Downey pitcher Shane Norris struck out two and got an out at the plate to save the game at Downey.

Norris struck out 11, but walked 8. In fact, his 11 straight balls to begin the game helped Western to two runs. The Vikings’ John Hoetker hit a three-run home run in the third inning to put Downey ahead 4-2. Western trailed 5-2 before Mike Frabotta got a two-run double to close the gap in the seventh.