Diamond Bar Puts Up a Detour on Katella’s Road to a Championship

During the first two rounds of the Southern Section 5-A baseball playoffs, Katella High School played games in the San Fernando Valley.

But for the quarterfinals, the Knights got a home game at Boysen Park, just a five-minute walk from the school. But the trip home Friday was longer than any bus ride from the Valley after a 7-2 loss to Diamond Bar.

On the way back to campus, the Knights had time to reflect on early missed opportunities, including leaving nine runners on base in the first four innings.

The most painful event came in the fourth, with Diamond Bar leading, 3-2. Katella’s Jamie Vitzelio lined a ball to center field that Diamond Bar’s Jeff Turley dove for, bit it got by him for a triple.

Katella (22-6) had the tying run at third with no one out but failed to score.

Eric Boyd struck out, and Brandon Farley bounced to third for the second out. Jess Evans hit a hard grounder up the middle, but Diamond Bar second baseman Issac Garcia reached the ball, juggled it, but still got Evans to end the threat.

“That was the big inning for us,” Diamond Bar Coach Kent Neil said. “We made some great plays along the way and that was just another example.”

Garcia had a two-run triple and scored on a sacrifice fly from Kevin Ware as Diamond Bar took a 3-0 lead in the second.

Katella, which had left two runners in the first inning, scored single runs in the second and third but left the bases loaded each time. Vitzelio walked with the bases loaded in the second, but Boyd flied to deep center field for the third out.

Diamond Bar starter Tom Thompson continued to struggle with his control in the third. He walked three in the inning, including ninth-place hitter Chris Reed, to force in another run.

Thompson was then replaced by Jared Janke, who got Dennis Briggs to hit into a force out to end the inning.

“You have to give them the credit,” Katella Coach Tim McMenamin said. “We have no excesses. We just didn’t play a very good game.”

Katella mistakes helped Diamond Bar (26-6) score three more runs in the fifth. Katella starter Danny Allen walked ninth-place batter David Mallas with no one out. Tito Quiles then sacrificed, but Allen’s throw to first was wide.

Allen then got ahead of Thompson, no balls and two strikes, but hit him with a full count to lead the bases. Allen (9-4), the loser, was replaced by Chris Drummond. Karl Thompson singled in two runs and Jim Doyle singled in another off Drummond and Diamond Bar led, 6-2.

Quiles singled in Diamond Bar’s final run in the sixth.

Katella’s loss breaks the Empire League’s four-year streak of having a team in the title game. Esperanza, which was eliminated Tuesday, was in the title game for three years (1986-88). El Dorado, which won the title last season, didn’t make the playoffs.