Diamond Bar Rips Fountain Valley

Kent Neil, Diamond Bar baseball coach, has heard the fact so often, he can respond in a flash. In 21 years, no No. 1-seeded team has won the Southern Section large-school championship.

In 21 years, few have even come close.

So, after his top-seeded Brahmas completed the second step on that quest with an 11-1 rout of Fountain Valley Tuesday, Neil got hit with the fact once again. No top-seeded team has won the division now known as the 5-A since Lakewood in 1970.

“That’s what they tell me,” Neil said. “I guess we’ve got to go with that and do the best we can. But some day, that’s going to change.”

It will this year, if the Brahmas (26-1) keep running into generous opponents.

Fountain Valley (16-13) committed six errors--of many forms and variations--leading to eight unearned runs.

That here-you-go-take-it style helped put the Brahmas in the quarterfinals, where they will play Long Beach Jordan, a 1-0 winner over Oxnard Channel Islands.

The last No. 1-seeded team to reach the championship game was Esperanza in 1987. The Aztecs lost to Lakewood in the final.

“We’re not worried about any of that,” Neil said. “We’re just trying not to look ahead of anyone.”

The Brahmas could have started looking to their next opponent in the fourth inning Tuesday. By then, they had a 5-0 lead and were being handed plenty of opportunities.

The worst culprit was third baseman Larry Welch, who made three errors before leaving the game after the third inning. A close runner-up was second baseman Paul Zuzula, who made two errors in one inning.

And it wasn’t as if the Baron pitchers could complain that much about the lack of support in the field.

Starter Ara Petrosian (7-3) walked five batters, one intentionally, and threw a wild pitch. He threw 41 pitches in the first inning and left with one out in the second, trailing 4-0, though only one of the runs was earned.

Brian Ponchak followed, but didn’t fair any better. He walked one, threw a wild pitch and made a throwing error.

All that to benefit a team that USA Today calls the best in the nation.

“We didn’t do much of anything out there,” Baron Coach Ron La Ruffa said. “You can’t give a team like Diamond Bar that many opportunities.”

True enough.

Diamond Bar loaded the bases in the first and second innings. Aaron Armstrong, who had three runs batted in, singled home two in the first. In the second, he hit a grounder that went under Welch’s glove for an error, scoring two more runs.

The Brahmas sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth, scoring four runs. They scored the first two without hitting the ball out of the infield.

After two bunt singles and a forceout, Issac Garcia laid down another bunt. Ponchak fielded the ball and fired into right field, allowing Danny Cooper to score. Zuzula retrieved the ball, then overthrew two cut-off men, allowing David Mallas to score.

It was more than enough for pitcher Mike Corominas (9-0), who allowed only five hits in six innings. He also hit a two-run homer in the seventh.