Mira Mesa Takes Five, Wins Title : Baseball: Offense comes through in the fifth inning to earn third consecutive championship.

Five runs on five hits in the fifth inning. That was what Mira Mesa had been counting on Wednesday in the San Diego Section 3-A baseball championship.

That it came as late as it did, didn’t matter much to the Marauders once they were carrying on like the three-time defending champions they now are.

That fifth inning eventually gave Mira Mesa an 8-2 victory over Bonita Vista in front of 2,484 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Left-hander Brendan Hause took care of the rest, scattering five hits, striking out 11 and collecting his 13th victory against one defeat.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Hause, a four-year starter. “It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. What a run.”

For Hause, it was a fitting end to a brilliant four-year career during which he and Mira Mesa (27-5) lost only one playoff game in 15 tries. The one defeat came against Mt. Carmel, 5-4, in the 1989 semifinals at USD.

“Coming so close my freshman year and standing on the field after we lost, I’ll never forget that, either,” he said.

Catcher Karl Goins, outfielder Jason Payne and infielder Brian Wilson, all seniors, also were here for all three championships.

“It’s the best feeling in my life,” Wilson said. “I’m kind of in awe right now.

“Ever since Brendan and I were little kids, we’ve been talking about going to the stadium (the championship). Three for three. Wow. It’s a dream come true.”

Mira Mesa is now 4-0 in title games, another section record. Lawrence Elliott was the coach when the Marauders won in 1985.

The last three belong to Coach Mike Prosser.

“They’re all exciting,” Prosser said. “They’re all fun. And they’re all different.

“They’re different teams. It’s hard for me to compare them, except they’re all winners.

Said Hause: “By far. Up and down the lineup, this is the best hitting team since I’ve been here. And that’s hard to say, considering those other teams also won championships.”

The fifth inning proved it.

After Bonita Vista tied the score, 2-2, with a run in the top of the fifth, Mira Mesa took control in the bottom half of the inning.

Goins and Hause led off with singles to right. Wilson then tapped to Bonita Vista starter Randy Robinson (9-2), whose throw to third pulled Jorge Millan off the bag and the bases were loaded.

Coleman Mullin then hit the ball over the head of right fielder Joe Morales. The ball eventually skipped to the wall, but the runners were hesitant, thinking Morales might catch the ball.

Mullin settled for a long single. Only one run scored because Morales quickly retrieved the ball and threw it to second baseman Jaime Cabral, who made a perfect throw to catcher John Gonzalez to nail Hause at the plate.

That play merely served to slow the Marauders. They weren’t done yet. After Millan replaced Robinson on the mound, Jason Payne hit a bunt single down the third base line, and Wilson scored to make it 4-2.

The next batter, Chris Lilly, lined a double down the left-field line that one-hopped the fence, and two more runs came in.

Bobby Arban’s squeeze bunt drove in the fifth run of the inning to make it 7-2.

After a final run in the sixth, Hause struck out the side in the seventh--11 of Bonita Vista’s final 16 outs were strikeouts--the celebration began for one team, and the dream ended for the other.

Bonita Vista players said they were not surprised to be in the championship. After all, the Barons finished 20-9-2. One look at their record last season (5-13-1) would show just how far they have come.

“This was a different team from last year,” Bonita Vista Coach Bill Getz said. “I’m proud of these guys. Every last one of them. We’re tough.