Cline’s Power, Fiacco’s Pitching Put Camarillo Past St. Francis, 9-2

You really couldn’t blame Scott Cline and Charlie Fiacco for taking their time in arriving at the Camarillo High team meeting following Tuesday’s second-round playoff against St. Francis at Brookside Park in Pasadena.

Teammates urged the pair to hurry because they were hungry and wanted to get on the road so they could eat.

But, Cline and Fiacco had already had their fill.

They had spent the last 2 1/2 hours feasting on St. Francis pitching and were just beginning to digest the Scorpions’ 9-2 victory. A victory that advances Camarillo into the quarterfinals against Redondo Beach, a 13-12 winner Tuesday over Esperanza.

Cline, who entered the game hitting over .500, went 3 for 3 with a home run, a triple and two runs batted in.

Fiacco (.460) really gorged himself with two hits, a sacrifice and four RBIs. He also pitched five innings and earned the win.

“Cline and Fiacco both had great days,” Camarillo Coach Ken Wagner said. “We didn’t expect to hit that well today. When a couple guys start doing it though, then it becomes contagious. Everyone else wants to hit some ropes, too.”

Camarillo didn’t waste time, let alone a single pitch, in getting things started.

Angel Barroso lined Pete Carley’s first offering into the left field gap for a double.

Ken Sirak’s bunt single moved Barroso to third and Cline followed with a walk.

Fiacco produced the Scorpions’ first run with a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Barroso.

The Marmonte League champion did most of its damage, however, in the third inning.

Barroso led off with his second double of the game. He moved to third when St. Francis center fielder Pat Sullivan dropped Sirak’s routine fly ball.

Cline walked again to load the bases before Fiacco cleared the table with a three-run triple to the left field fence.

He scored two-outs later on Chris Lillich’s double to right field.

“I just got a good pitch to hit and turned on it,” Fiacco said. “This ballpark is funny though, because as a pitcher, you can get away with giving up the long fly balls.”

St. Francis’ Carley would probably beg to differ.

In the fourth inning, with Sirak aboard on a single, Cline hit a shot out of the park for his 11th home run.

“After walking the first two times up, I figured I wasn’t going to get a good pitch all day,” Cline said. “But, in the fourth, I got one. So, I jumped on it.”

Cline jumped on another fastball in the sixth inning and hit a triple off the fence in center field.

Fiacco walked and Kevin Madden’s sacrifice fly to center field scored Cline.

Fiacco scored one out later on Craig Stevens’ pinch-hit single.

For Fiacco (7-0), all the hitting and baserunning, coupled with five innings on the mound under a hot sun, forced him to leave the game after surrendering a single to open the home half of the sixth.

“I just ran out of gas,” Fiacco said. “I’m not used to this heat and I felt like I was doing everything in slow motion.”

Whatever he was doing was working on the St. Francis hitters.

Andy Purner, who had three singles, was the only Golden Knight who did much of anything.

St. Francis, which entered the game averaging better than six runs, threatened in the first inning when Sullivan’s fly ball to left field was turned into a three-base error.

But Fiacco shut the door, getting three consecutive outs.

“After I got out of that jam, I knew I could get them out,” Fiacco said.

The Golden Knights (17-9) managed their runs in the fifth inning on two fielder’s choice plays.