4-A Baseball Playoffs : Lakewood, Destiny Beat Westminster, 4-3

Westminster High School never really had a chance Tuesday in its 4-3 loss to Lakewood in the second round of the Southern Section 4-A playoffs at Westminster.

Pitching, timely hitting and defense aside, the Lions were doomed from the start because of something Lakewood seems to have had on its side all season.

Destiny.

The Lancers scored four runs in the seventh inning, all with two out, to pull out the win. It was Lakewood’s 11th win in 12 one-run games this season.

They won nine of 10 one-run games on their way to the Moore League championship and came from behind to defeat Rolling Hills, 2-1, in the first round.

Lakewood was held to four hits for six innings by Westminster pitcher Ryan Klesko. But it got five hits in the seventh, four consecutive, to pull out the win.

Twice, Lakewood batters stood at the plate with two strikes and two out facing them and twice the batters came through with RBI hits.

All of which has Lakewood fans and coaching staff alike looking to the heavens, and waxing poetic about what fate has in store for this baseball team.

“Somebody up there definitely likes us,” said Spud O’Neil, Lakewood coach. “I don’t know how long this kind of thing can keep up, but we’ve done this all year. Why do you think I have these gray hairs in my mustache?”

Lakewood was frustrated for most of the afternoon by Klesko, a freshman, who kept the ball low and the Lancers off the bases.

As the Lakewood offense sputtered, Westminster built a 3-0 lead in the third inning on the strength of four straight hits with two out.

It began with designated hitter David Turner striking out and left fielder Chris Musuraca flying out to center.

Johnny Tazza then doubled to center and scored on Dean Eddy’s single to right. Bob Martinez followed with another single to right that put Eddy on third.

After Martinez stole second, Klesko bounced a single up the middle to drive in both runners. Three to nothing, and all seemed right with the world. Well, if not the world, Westminster baseball.

Still, all Westminster Coach Bill Whitely could think about was where he had left his four-corner offense.

“I’ve seen too much happen in baseball to ever think a game is over before it’s over,” he said. “I wish there was a clock so I could have run time out. I would have stalled.”

Stalled is what Klesko did in the seventh. Lakewood first baseman Rick Wildt led off the inning with a single. Pinch-hitter Damien Easley struck out and catcher John Baldwin flied to center. Third baseman Fred Pena had two strikes on him when he tripled to drive in Wildt. Right fielder Jeff Bowman doubled down the left-field line to drive in Pena and chase Klesko from the game.

Sophomore John Betz was brought in and quickly got two strikes on second baseman Wayne Tennis. In true Team Melodrama fashion, Tennis had a full count on him when he singled to drive in Bowman with the tying run.

Scott Ewart followed with a triple that scored Tennis with the winning run.

In other action:

Esperanza 4, San Gorgonio 2--Andy Escobar hit a run-scoring double and then scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the sixth inning as the Aztecs (22-3-1) rallied at Anaheim Hills.

It was the second consecutive game-winning RBI for Escobar, whose single scored the winning run against Huntington Beach last Friday. The Aztecs trailed, 2-1, going into the bottom of the sixth but Brian Aube’s run-scoring single tied the score, 2-2.

Escobar lined a fastball to left-center that scored Kevin Clancy for a 3-2 lead and then Escobar was allowed to score when Spartan left fielder Rob Asay threw the ball into the Esperanza dugout.

Left-hander Steve Halweg (13-2) gained the victory by pitching the final 1 innings in relief of Tim MacNeil. MacNeil had a no-hitter through five innings, but struggled in the sixth and allowed two runs.