SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES : 4-A : South Hills’ Fly Balls Fall Short as Covina Wins, 8-1

Valle Vista league rivals Covina and South Hills of West Covina played twice earlier this season, each easily winning at home. In Saturday night’s Southern Section 4-A final, the teams were the same, but the dimensions of the venue were so much different.

And Covina has Anaheim Stadium to thank. The Colts, who decided the season series with an 8-1 victory, saw the long balls that carried over the fences at home falling well within the confines of Anaheim Stadium.

The Colts got quite a bit of help from pitcher Paul Branconier, who allowed just three hits and got South Hills batters to hit 10 fly balls to the outfield, and all were caught by Covina outfielders.

“I told our players that it’s a graveyard out there, and they can’t drive the ball like they can at home,” South Hills Coach Jim Bastion said. “We would have lit them up in our ballpark, but he (Branconier) pitched an intelligent game here.”

This theory was not lost on Branconier, who lost at South Hills, 6-2, earlier this season.

“Yeah, I knew it (Anaheim Stadium) would help,” Branconier, a senior, said. “And I think it was in the back of their (South Hills) minds. Last time I threw too many fastballs, but this time I worked the corners.”

Jason Giambi, South Hills’ top pitcher, was available for only three innings, which proved troublesome for the Huskies. Starter Aaron Small lasted just 1 innings, yielded six runs and left South Hills in a hole they could not climb out of, considering the distance to the fences at Anaheim.

With two out in the first, Branconier singled to left and stole second. After Don DiSimoni walked, Michael Solar drove in Branconier with a single to right, and then Small threw a wild pitch, allowing DiSimoni to score and giving Covina all the margin it would need, 2-0.

South Hills scored a run in the top of the second, but Covina scored 4 runs on 3 hits and an error in the bottom of the inning.

Randy Solar led off with a single to right, then Sall walked Jason Patten. Thomas Cohen then bunted, but Small’s throw to third baseman Clay Tellers sailed into left field, and Randy Solar scored. his set up things for Ron Lashly, who ripped a single to center, scoring Patten. Michael Solar and DiSimoni followed with run-scoring singles off reliever Shawn Wickoff, and it was 6-1.

The damage continued in the third as Wickoff gave up a leadoff walk to Patten. Cohen’s sacrifice bunt moved Patten to second, and Steven Barron followed ith a single, again setting the stage for Lashly. The senior third baseman singled to left, driving in his second and third runs of the game.

Bastion replaced Wickoff with Giambi, who held Covina hitless the rest of the way, but South Hills could not solve Branconier, managing just one hit in the final five innings.