SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS : 3-A BASEBALL SEMIFINALS : Corona Express Knocks Tustin Out of Playoffs

Corona, a baseball team heading nowhere after losing its first five games, is heading to the Southern Section 3-A championship game thanks to some unexpected sources.

Steve Bernier and Myke Fleming, two players Coach Lyle Wilkerson did not count on to contribute much this season, pushed the Panthers past Tustin, 5-3, Tuesday at University High School. It was the second consecutive season and third time in four years that the Tillers had been eliminated in the semifinals.

Corona finished fast after a slow start. The Panthers (18-13) ended up third in the Mountain View League and barely made the playoffs.

They beat Ontario in a qualifying game and have been on a roll since.

“The best team never wins a tournament like this,” said Tustin Coach Vince Brown, who earlier in the season announced his resignation. “The team that played better today won.”

And Corona did so thanks to Bernier, who won his fourth game of the playoffs, and Fleming, whose two-run homer broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning.

“I didn’t even expect to have those two guys on the team this year,” Wilkerson said.

Fleming was a surprise, transferring from a high school in Arizona before the school year started. He got a late start because of the soccer season but won the starting first base spot by midseason.

Still, he has not been the most consistent hitter for the Panthers. In fact, he has not hit higher than eighth in the order in weeks.

That proved to be just the right spot Tuesday. With the score tied, he hit Tom Cerasuolo’s 1-0 pitch over the right-field fence for his second home run.

“He’s not a consistent hitter, but he’s a clutch one,” Wilkerson said.

Bernier, on the other hand, was a known quantity. Wilkerson just didn’t think he would have him on the team.

Bernier, a senior, was an All-Southern Section quarterback for the Panthers last fall. After the season, he told Wilkerson he was going to concentrate on football.

“He got bored after a while,” Wilkerson said.

A good thing, too, for the Panthers.

Bernier (9-3) wasn’t overpowering, but he did strike out seven. He also walked four and gave up six hits.

Still, he pitched his way out of several jams. Tustin (20-8) stranded 11 baserunners.

Corona got off to a quick lead, scoring twice in the first inning.

But Tustin, which had scored eight runs in the seventh to beat El Centro Central Union in the second round, scrapped back again in the fourth. With the Tillers trailing, 2-1, Mando Fonseca drove in a run with a single, and Zach Elliott’s groundout drove in another to give them the lead.

Corona tied the score in the fifth on an RBI single by Jeff Cervantes, the No. 9 hitter.