SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL QUARTERFINALS : Sparks Helps Ignite Montclair Prep, 11-9

Montclair Prep Coach Walt Steele will be the first to admit it wasn’t pretty.

But in the playoffs, as he’ll also tell you, aesthetics count for very little.

After surviving a 2 1/2-hour bus trip to the desert and nearly blowing a 10-run lead in the final three innings, top-seeded Montclair Prep hung on to defeat Beaumont, 11-9, in a Southern Section 1-A Division quarterfinal game Friday.

“We managed to survive,” Steele said. “We let those guys back in the ballgame, but we should’ve known that when you’re in somebody else’s backyard, they’re not going to back down.”

Montclair Prep (23-3) took a commanding 11-1 lead in the fifth inning after 5-foot-9 center fielder Leland Sparks hit a grand slam, his second homer of the season.

From there, Beaumont (17-10) scored four runs in the fifth to chase starter and winner Kevin Grant (11-1). Beaumont added three runs in the sixth and one in the seventh before senior Scott Saklad shut the door for his second save.

Sparks had two hits and five runs batted in. Teammate Andy Shaw had three hits, and Jared Baumblatt and Keyaan Cook had two hits each.

In the semifinals on Tuesday, Montclair Prep will meet Paraclete, which defeated Crossroads, 21-5, on Friday.

In other quarterfinal games:

3-A DIVISION

La Serna 4, Saugus 3--La Serna scored the winning run when Saugus pitcher Chris Hernandez hit Glen Huggins with a 1-and-1 pitch with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Hernandez (7-3), a sophomore left-hander, replaced starter Doug Maggiora in the ninth inning. With one out in the 11th, Jeff Ferguson and Bryan Dunnigan singled and Willie Adams reached base on a fielder’s choice to load the bases.

Senior Walter White was two for five with an RBI for Saugus (20-6-1). Pat Henry was one for three with a run scored and an RBI.

1-A DIVISION

Village Christian 3, Kern Valley 2--Senior left-hander Matt Bates was two for three and scored two runs to lead Village Christian in a quarterfinal at Kern Valley. Bates (8-0) also pitched six innings, allowed two runs and struck out seven.

With Village Christian (17-6) leading, 3-1, in the bottom of the seventh, Bates allowed a walk and a double to lead off the inning. He was relieved by Mark Vail, who walked the first man he faced to load the bases.

Vail retired the next two batters via a strikeout and a fly ball, then walked in a run to cut the lead to 3-2. Vail, a junior right-hander, ended the game with a strikeout.

Fillmore 17, Tehachapi 7--Junior right-hander Anthony Chessani survived a rocky start to pitch a complete game as the Flashes advanced to the semifinals on Tuesday against Village Christian.

Fillmore, which reached the 1-A final last season, led, 7-3, after an inning and a half, but Tehachapi scored three in the bottom of the second and one in the third to tie. However, Chessani (10-1), who struck out five and scattered 12 hits, yielded only five hits after the third inning.

Chad Van Winkle, who was two for three, hit a pair of two-run home runs to lead Fillmore.

Paraclete 21, Crossroads 5--Paraclete collected a season-high 20 hits to go with a season-high run total in a quarterfinal game at Paraclete.

Scott Stewart led the Spirits’ attack with three hits, including a two-run home run in the second inning to give Paraclete (15-7) a 6-0 lead. Jason Williams was two for three, including a double and a triple, with two RBIs. Jeff Williams, Jason’s twin, was three for five, and Andre Matalon was two for four.

SMALL SCHOOLS DIVISION

Rosamond 11, Queen of Angels 5--Felix Renteria was two for three, including a run-scoring triple, for Queen of Angels (14-5). Eric Montijo added two hits and two RBIs.