SOUTHERN SECTION 5-A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : Edison Is Humbled by Millikan : Final: Three-hit pitching by Brian Keller ends Chargers’ improbable playoff success one game short.
Finally, Edison High School played like the so-so third-place team it was when the regular season ended.
After backing into the Southern Section 5-A playoffs and then running over three teams to get to the championship game, the Chargers’ wild ride came to an end.
Behind the three-hit pitching of Brian Keller, Millikan put them in their place with a 8-2 victory at Anaheim Stadium.
“You get into the playoffs and you think that’s going to make you happy,” Edison Coach Paul Harrell said. “Then you get to the next level and you think that’s going to make you happy. Then you get to the title game and think that’s going to make you happy. But in the end, it’s always disappointing when you lose.”
The bearer of the bad tidings was Keller, who labored through the first inning, then overpowered the Chargers.
Keller (7-1) allowed only three hits, all of which came in the first inning.
Twice during the playoffs, the Chargers had rallied in the late innings to win. Keller would have none of that.
He retired the final 15 batters.
“I was just pushing the ball to the plate the first couple innings,” Keller said. “I was having trouble getting my balance. Once that came, then my rhythm came.”
And the Chargers went down quietly.
Edison didn’t hit one ball out of the infield during the final four innings. Nine ground outs and three strike outs.
“When Brian is getting those ground balls, it’s trouble for the other team,” Millikan Coach Dan Peters said. “He’s on his game then.”
The Chargers, meanwhile, were off theirs. They could find none of the magic that got them to the title game.
After finishing 5-7 in Sunset League play, they had upset one team after another in the playoffs with timely hitting, good pitching and tight defense.
None of which Edison did well Saturday.
In the first, the Chargers had one run in and the bases loaded, but Josh Warren grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Josh Gingrich, who hadn’t pitched since April 23, lasted only 3 1/3 innings. He gave up six runs and seven hits and threw two wild pitches.
The Chargers also made three errors, one of which cost them a run.
“We made some mistakes, but Millikan just beat us,” Harrell said.
The Rams (24-6) got off quickly in the first. Dante Powell led off with a single and then stole second. After being sacrificed to third, he scored on a wild pitch.
Powell also singled and scored in the seventh. He finished the season with 46 stolen bases in 46 attempts.
“The first inning was a pure Powell,” Peters said. “He can terrify a pitcher.”
The Rams broke the game open with four runs in the fourth.
Greg Negrete singled home one run. Jason Manack then doubled, which left fielder Adam Cancelleri misplayed. Two runs scored.
Manack then scored on a single by Aaron Quinn.
“That inning did us in,” Harrell said. “We didn’t have anything after that.”
Except a memory of one bad night.
Said Edison second baseman Darrel Weaver: “This one is going to hurt for a long, long time.”
