SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : 4--A : Esperanza Holds On to Beat Diamond Bar, 2-1

Esperanza High School is finding out that defending its Southern Section 4-A baseball title isn’t easy. The Aztecs narrowly escaped Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over Diamond Bar in a second-round playoff game at Esperanza. Esperanza (23-3), the top-seeded team in 4-A, had to hold off a seventh-inning rally by Diamond Bar to advance to a quarterfinal Friday against Servite.

Jason Moler (7-1) held Diamond Bar (19-8) without a hit for 5 innings before Frank Galindo singled. Moler allowed a run in the seventh but was helped by two fine defensive plays to get the victory.

Corey Kapano walked and Tony Darden and Brian Hendrick singled to load the bases. Kyle Shuler then singled to score Kapano, but third baseman Bret Bish took a relay from left fielder Bart Goldman to throw Darden out at the plate for the first out in the seventh.

Craig O’Connor then made an over-the-shoulder catch in right field hit by Tony Skrah with two on for the second out on the seventh. Esperanza scored two unearned runs off Jim Edmonds (7-2), who had eighth strikeouts and gave up only three hits. In the fourth, a fielding error by shortstop Craig Turley scored Bish, who had singled and went to second on a wild pitch.

In the fifth, a throwing error by third baseman Shuler in the fifth scored Kevin Webb, who had walked and stole second.