Montclair Prep Computes a Win Over Carpinteria With P.C.

Montclair Prep Coach Jeff Pressman must have had P.C. Shaw in mind when he chose the Encino Baseball Complex rather than Valley College as the site for the Mounties’ Southern Section 1-A playoff opener Tuesday against Carpinteria.

“This complex is where we practice every day,” Pressman said. “We played at Valley all season, but this is where our players feel most comfortable.”

No one feels more at home at the complex than Shaw, the Montclair Prep third baseman who singled home the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the top-ranked Mounties an 8-7 win.

Montclair Prep (22-3) will play Gladstone, a 7-1 winner Tuesday over Yucaipa, in a quarterfinal game on Friday.

At 5-6, 130 pounds, Shaw would have been an unlikely hero if the game had been played anywhere but at the five-field Encino complex. That is where Shaw spent his entire youth baseball career, where he coaches two little league teams and where his mother Doris is the public address announcer.

“I know I’m not strong enough to hit the ball a long way, so I just tried to make contact,” said Shaw, who made a couple of fine defensive plays that cut off potential Carpinteria rallies. “This is all I’ve wanted since the beginning of the season.”

Tuesday’s game was the 11th time this season that Montclair Prep had come from behind to win.

Montclair Prep pitcher Scott Hauser, who came into the game 8-0, was relieved by Reggie Smith after 1 innings. Hauser surrendered a home run to Chris Ames--the first batter of the game--and one out later Hippie Sanchez hit a Hauser pitch over the bushes in center field for a two-run homer.

“At Valley, all of our long fly balls are caught for outs,” Pressman said. “That’s another reason I wanted us to play here--to take advantage of the shorter dimensions. But, I guess they were the ones who capitalized today.”

Montclair Prep was down 7-4 in the fifth inning when the Mounties did some capitalizing of their own. Carpinteria commited three of the five errors it made in the game and Montclair Prep was able to pull within 7-6.

“That inning typified our season,” said Carpinteria Coach Greg Lomelli, whose team finished 12-11. “We were playing well up to that point. I think our kids found out that ratings don’t mean anything when you step between the lines.”

Montclair Prep tied the game in the sixth inning when Darrell Handelsman drove in J.R Smith, who had singled and moved to second on a past ball.

That set the stage for Shaw.

“P.C. is the player everyone laughs at when they see him on the field,” Pressman said. “But he’s worked himself into a valuable player for us. No one gets more out of his ability than P.C.”

Smith (5-0) pitched 5 innings to earn the win. The senior left-hander gave up two hits and struck out four.

John Quick had two hits and two RBIs for Montclair Prep. Scott Randall had a double and two singles.