HIGH SCHOOL SECTION PLAYOFFS : 3-A BASEBALL SEMIFINALS : Fight Clouds the Day as Underdogs Advance

Upset?

The word certainly applied to Saturday’s fight-marred semifinals of the San Diego Section 3-A baseball playoffs at USD’s Cunningham Stadium.

Ninth-seeded Monte Vista, the fourth-place finisher in the Grossmont 3-A League, “upset” fourth-seeded Patrick Henry, 9-7, and 15th-seeded Mira Mesa, the third-place team in the City Eastern League, “upset” No. 6 Mt. Carmel, 5-0.

But truly upset was Patrick Henry’s Luke Lowrey, whose postgame punch of a Monte Vista player ignited a brawl that lasted about three minutes.

Moments after Patrick Henry went down in the bottom of the seventh, the two teams lined up in front of home plate for the traditional postgame handshakes.

Lowrey instead greeted Curt Howard with a right to the jaw. The two wrestled to the ground as other fights broke out all around.

Monte Vista’s Chris Sabala was struck in the left eye--he said by a punch he didn’t see coming--and the eye swelled shut within minutes. There didn’t appear to be any other serious injuries.

Patrick Henry Coach Bob Imlay lambasted his team afterward in the dugout.

Later, Imlay said, “They’re a very emotional team, more so than any other I’ve had in 22 years. So they’re mercurial. They get real high and real low, like manic depressives.”

Lowrey, a junior first baseman, said he had been taunted by Monte Vista players throughout the game.

With the victory, Monte Vista advanced to its first ever baseball final.

Or did it?

Section rules on fighting--adopted before the 1990 spring seasons--state that teams involved in a brawl during a playoff contest are to be eliminated. There is no appeal process. But the rules do not specifically cover postgame fights.

The umpires said their responsibilities regarding ejections ended when the game did.

Patrick Henry’s season is over at 17-12, as is Mt. Carmel’s at 22-8. If Monte Vista (20-11) is eliminated, Mira Mesa (21-7) would be champion.

Section Commissioner Kendall Webb must decide the matter before Thursday’s scheduled final at 3:30 p.m. at USD.

In Mira Mesa’s victory, left-hander Brendan Hause carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Andy Panganiban broke it up with an infield single. Hause finished with a two-hitter and was aided by three double plays. The third ended the game.

Mira Mesa had just four hits--two coming in scoreless innings--but the Marauders took advantage of two costly Mt. Carmel errors for three runs in the first and two in the seventh.

Monte Vista and Patrick Henry pounded out 19 hits. Howard, who hit .180 during the regular season, was the only Monarch with multiple hits, getting three singles and three runs batted in. Lowrey and John Dutra had two hits.

Monte Vista’s Vern Mullis and Patrick Henry’s Robert Mendez had bases-empty home runs.

Patrick Henry led at 3-0 and 7-4, but each time Monte Vista responded immediately with rallies to either tie or go ahead.