Section Baseball Playoffs : This Time, Torrey Pines Hangs On

It was the seventh inning of another one-run game Tuesday, and this time Torrey Pines High School wasn’t taking any chances. The Falcons were ahead and there were two out, two strikes and a runner on first when John Lynch threw the ball past a staring Pete Valdez.

Lynch leaped off the mound at Madison High School, charging toward the dugout. His catcher, Aric Applefield, jumped and let out a squeal. And the home plate umpire stood there, refusing to lift his arm. Ball.

Their attempt to sneak off the field foiled, Lynch and Applefield got back to business. Lynch reared again, fired and this time there was no question. Valdez swung and missed, and Torrey Pines had won a San Diego Section 3-A opening-round playoff game, 2-1.

It was no small accomplishment. The Falcons’ (14-11-1) arrival at Madison (20-7) was as much an attempt to escape bad luck as it was another date on the schedule. Eight of their losses were by one run. Five of them came in the final inning. And three of those came on passed balls after strike three.

This was a one-run cliffhanger all the way. Both Torrey Pines runs scored on suicide bunts--the first bunt by Ross Dixon in the fourth, the second by Brian Hochleutner in the seventh. Madison scored its run in the third inning, without a ball leaving the infield. It was the kind of day on which the hardest hit, a triple by Lynch over Madison center fielder Albert Mendiola’s head, meant about as much as a popup to shortstop.

Lynch exemplifies the hard luck Torrey Pines has encountered this season. His record entering the game (4-4-2) didn’t match his earned-run average (0.87). He went the distance Tuesday, striking out nine and allowing only three hits.

“I think I got stronger as the game went on,” he said. “I wasn’t throwing as hard at the end, but my curve was breaking better the last two innings and my delivery felt good.”

Madison’s Devin Fitzmaurice (6-3) kept Torrey Pines off balance all afternoon, holding the Falcons to two hits.