SOUTHERN SECTION 4-A BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : ROUNDUP : VerWayne Steals Show; El Toro Defeats Rio Mesa

The crowd that gathered Tuesday for the Southern Section 4-A playoff game between Rio Mesa and host El Toro came in part to see Rio Mesa’s Dmitri Young.

Young, a shortstop who is expected to be taken within the first two rounds of the baseball draft, already has signed with Miami. He came into the game with 158 hits, 28 home runs and 126 runs batted in for his career.

But by the end of the afternoon, the attention had shifted to El Toro sophomore Marc VerWayne, who pitched the Chargers to a 5-4 upset of fourth-seeded Rio Mesa.

VerWayne allowed four runs and eight hits, including two home runs, but when it counted most, he was at his best.

He allowed a one-out homer to Young in the sixth (his 11th of the season) as Rio Mesa (18-7) cut the lead to 5-4. But VerWayne came back to retire the final five batters for the victory.

“He has poise to the max,” El Toro Coach Dan DeLeon said. “He goes about it like a shirt-and-tie businessman.”

Some of VerWayne’s best work came in the second inning--after some of his worst. He retired the first two batters, but hit a batter, allowed a single, then walked another to load the bases for Young.

DeLeon went to the mound for a meeting.

“I told him that we didn’t want to make a mistake and lose the ball,” DeLeon said. “I just told him to throw his best and that a walk was OK. We were willing to give up one, but not four.”

VerWayne’s first two pitches were curveballs for called strikes, then he got Young to ground hard down the line. Third baseman David Owens picked up the ball and got the force at third to end the inning. VerWayne allowed a two-run home run to Jon McMullen in the third as Rio Mesa took a 3-1 lead. But El Toro rallied for four runs in the fourth.

The Chargers (17-11) play Arroyo Grande (15-8) in the quarterfinals Friday at a site to be determined.