WILD-CARD ROUNDUP : Katella Rallies to Defeat Servite on Briggs’ Bases-Loaded Single in Sixth

A drawn-in infield was all Katella’s Dennis Briggs needed to drive in the winning run Tuesday and hand Servite pitcher Adam Anderson another hard-luck loss.

Briggs’ bases-loaded single in the bottom of the sixth inning scored Ron Gallego with the winning run in Katella’s 5-4 victory in a Southern Section 5-A wild-card game at Anaheim’s Boysen Park.

Katella (16-10), trailing 3-0 after two innings, scored three runs in the third and single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to advance to the first round of the division playoffs Friday at Beverly Hills (17-6).

Servite (14-12) had the tying run on second in the seventh after Chris Honikel blooped a double down the left-field line with two outs. But winning pitcher Chris Reed (9-3) got Matt Muller to fly out deep to center to end the game.

“We did a great job staying in the game after getting down, 3-0, in the second,” Katella Coach Tim McMenamin said. “We were nervous at the beginning with only two guys out there with playoff experience.”

Katella managed only two solid hits off Anderson (4-5) in 5 1/3 innings and one of those--a long drive by Reed in the fifth--was caught by center fielder Cliff Mierendorf.

But Anderson tired in the sixth and allowed hits by Erik Cortez and Matt Stockstill before Mierendorf replaced him. Mierendorf walked Dax Dowling to load the bases, setting the stage for Briggs.

“If there’s a hard-luck pitcher of the year, it’s Adam Anderson,” Servite Coach Mike McNary said. “It seemed like all of their hits had eyes. But give Katella credit; they put the ball in play and made their own breaks today.”