Southern Section Playoffs : Maquanalez Helps Rio Mesa Reach 3-A Championship

Phil Maquanalez’s three-run double in the fourth inning provided Rio Mesa of Oxnard (26-3) with its runs, and Craig Good and Maquanalez limited Edgewood (25-4) to four hits to give the Spartans a 3-1 victory at Oxnard College.

In the other 3-A semifinal, Lompoc (23-5), trailing 6-0, erupted for 10 runs in the fifth inning at Brockhurst Park and went on to defeat Sunny Hills (22-6) of Fullerton, 12-7.

In the 2-A, Bob Brucato raced home from first with the winning run on Ray Reinders’ second triple of the game to give Mission Viejo (20-7) a 6-5 win over Mountain View (15-9-1) of El Monte at UC Irvine.

Mission Viejo’s opponent in the final will be Diamond Bar (26-2), which advanced to the 2-A final with a come from behind 9-8 win over Norte Vista (22-6) in eight innings at El Dorado High in Placentia. Bill Beeman’s three-run homer in the sixth inning tied the game at eight, and Beeman came back in the eighth to drive home Marc Coker from second base with the winning run on a shot down the left field line.

Whittier Christian (19-3) scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 3-2 lead into the final inning, but San Dimas (21-5) rallied for three of its own to defeat Whittier, 5-3, at Boysen Park and advance to the 1-A final. Baldwin Park will face San Dimas in the final, as Dennis Potvin shut out Orange Lutheran (15-10) over the final six innings for a 6-3 Baldwin Park (19-10) victory at Hart Park.

Santa Monica Crossroads returned to the Small Schools final with a 20-3 blowout of Linfield Christian of Temecula at Mt. San Jacinto College. The Roadrunners lost 8-7 to Newport Christian in last year’s championship game.

Woodcrest Christian of Riverside will oppose Crossroads in the title game. Woodcrest (16-6) edged Rio Hondo Prep, 5-4, at Riverside Poly to advance to the Small Schools final Saturday.