Poly Escapes With 5-4 Victory Over Van Nuys : Prep baseball: Top-seeded Parrots score three runs in the bottom of the seventh to keep Wolves at bay.

Facing an early exit from the City Section 4-A Division baseball playoffs, top-seeded Poly High overcame a two-run deficit in the seventh inning to beat Van Nuys, 5-4, Tuesday in a first-round game at Poly.

It looked like an upset in the making when Van Nuys scored three runs in the fifth to take a 4-2 lead. But Poly broke out the bats in the seventh for a dramatic ending.

Pinch-hitter Mike Labrunda got the Parrots (19-4) started with a line-drive single to right and went to second when the ball rolled between right fielder Benjamin Villa’s legs. Jesus Perez (two for three) followed with a double down the right-field line to drive in Labrunda.

After Robert Iglesias beat out a chopper to shortstop Voltaire Baltazar for a single, Perez and Jose Mata--pinch-running for Iglesias--advanced a base on a wild pitch.

With Perez at third and Mata at second, Eric Diaz hit a slow roller to second baseman Refugio Pulido, who had to throw on the run to first baseman Jaime Chacon to get Diaz for the first out.

Hoping to pick off Perez, Chacon threw wildly past third baseman Victor Gonzalez, allowing Perez to score easily and tie it, 4-4.

After Francisco Flores drew an intentional walk, Orlando Chavarria (two for three) lined the first pitch into left field for a single to drive in Mata with the winning run. Diaz (9-2), a senior right-hander who relieved starter Allen Alegria with two out in the fifth, retired seven of the eight batters he faced.

It was a heartbreaking loss for Coach Bill Gordon and the Wolves (11-11), the lowest-seeded team in the tournament.

“It’s a tough one to take,” Gordon said, “but that’s baseball.”

It was the 13th consecutive win for Poly, which will face Kennedy on Thursday in the quarterfinals.