5-A QUARTERFINALS : El Dorado’s Holcomb Helps Rout Mater Dei

There’s not much that Shawn Holcomb isn’t doing for the El Dorado baseball team these days.

Pitching? He has won two of the Golden Hawks’ three Southern Section 5-A playoff games, including a 13-3 victory over Mater Dei in the quarterfinals Friday. He saved the team’s other postseason victory.

Hitting? Just try to get him out. Holcomb was three for three Friday with four runs batted in, two of which came on a towering home run to center field. It was his second home run in as many games.

So what’s a team to do?

“There wasn’t much we could do against him,” Mater Dei Coach Bob Ickes said.

And Mater Dei had been doing a lot lately.

The Monarchs (23-5) had thumped one opponent, then another during the playoffs. They had scored 24 runs in the first two playoff games, but Friday at El Dorado, they got the view from the other side of a rout.

Holcomb dominated, allowing two runs--only one of which was earned--and two hits. His only mistake was the first pitch of the fifth, which has hit for a home run by Brian Barajas.

By then the Golden Hawks (23-5), who will play Diamond Bar in the semifinals Tuesday, had a 10-1 lead. So Barajas’ solo homer was a a minor dent.

Holcomb left after five innings, to rest, and left a lasting impression, even on his own coach.

“He’s a player,” Coach Steve Gullotti said. “To tell you the truth, I was scared to death the whole game. Mater Dei doesn’t get cheated at the plate. They go up there hitting. Shawn just relaxed and pitched a great game.”

Which should hardly be a surprise.

Holcomb (11-1) pitched a five-hitter, striking out 10, in the Golden Hawks’ first-round victory over Redlands. He came back in the second round to pitch three innings, allowing only three hits and striking out five, to earn a save.

On Friday, he left the Monarchs watching in awe of his curveball--quite literally at times.

Mater Dei had runners on first and second with one out. But Darren Troilo and Billy Blanton struck out, looking at curveballs, to end the inning.

In fact, all seven batters Holcomb struck out watched a curve for strike three.

“We saw on the film that they had trouble with curves,” Holcomb said. “So I kept throwing them. I just had to get it over (the plate).”

Holcomb had no such problems while hitting. He opened the Golden Hawks’ scoring in the first with a two-run double and closed it in the fifth with his two-run homer.

He also singled and scored in the fourth.

Holcomb wasn’t alone in hitting.

Ickes said at the start of the season that the Monarchs would go as far as their pitching took them. They got to the quarterfinals.

Starter Rick Silva (9-1) went two inning, giving up four runs. He threw two wild pitches and hit a batter.

Mike McDonald followed and gave up nine runs, although only four were earned, in three innings. He threw one wild pitch and hit one batter.

Mater Dei also made five errors, which led to six unearned runs.

The Golden Hawks also got home runs from Mark Selway and John Street. They sent nine batters to the plate in the first and scored three runs. They sent eight batters to the plate in the fourth and scored four runs.

In all, El Dorado had 13 hits.

“All I can say is we were ready to play,” Gullotti said. “We were all ready to play.”

Especially Holcomb.