4-A BASEBALL : Irvine Blows Big Lead in Loss to South Hills

Nothing came easy for Irvine during the Southern Section 4-A baseball playoffs. Not the victories and certainly not the loss.

West Covina South Hills’ 6-5 victory was unimaginable for a while, then unpredictable and, finally, unbearable for the Vaqueros, who saw the championship slip from their grasp Saturday at Anaheim Stadium.

They watched a four-run lead evaporate in the bottom of the seventh inning. They watched a slow-footed catcher go from first to third on a throwing error in the ninth. They then watched him score on a wild pitch moments later.

Troy Chiara scored when a curveball by Ryan O’Toole bounced in front of home plate and went to the backstop. It let loose a wild celebration by the Huskies and left the Vaqueros wondering just how everything had gone wrong.

“You’re responsible for the position you put yourself in,” Irvine Coach Bob Flint said. “We created that situation.”

With two outs, Chiara had reached first on a bloop single that bounced off the glove of a diving Tommie Louie in center field. With Danny Ehler at the plate and the count 1-2, Chiara went for second on a botched hit-and-run play, but catcher Jason Minci threw the ball into center field, allowing the winning run to reach third.

One pitch later, the Huskies (20-9) were champions.

“I thought for sure they would throw a fastball,” South Hills Coach Jim Bastion said. “I couldn’t believe they would risk a wild pitch or passed ball on a curve.”

Said Flint: “That was not a situation for a curve. But that was the pitch we thought would get the out, so we called for it. That’s the way we’ve played (in the playoffs). There was no reason to change.”

Not for most of the game. Irvine (20-11) struggled for runs early, stranding five runners in the first three innings. Still, the Vaqueros took a 2-1 lead into the seventh and then scored three runs--two on a single by Ryan Jones.

Suddenly it was a 5-1 lead. A virtual rout for the Vaqueros, who had two one-run victories during the playoffs and won another game by two runs.

Irvine even had blown a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning against Riverside Arlington in the second round, only to score a run in the bottom of the inning to win.

That scenario was played out again Saturday, only this time, the Vaqueros weren’t able to respond.

Louie, who pitched the first six innings, had cruised into the seventh. He had allowed only two hits, one of which was a solo home run by Tray Nelson.

But Louie was ineffective in the seventh. He faced three batters, giving up a walk, a single and a ground-rule double. O’Toole was brought in, but fared no better.

A sacrifice fly and a single cut the lead to 5-4. O’Toole then hit Ehler to load the bases. Jeremey Giambi followed with a ground-ball single to right to tie the score.

Chiara, who had been on second, took a big turn around third, but was held up despite the fact that right fielder Scot Seal bobbled the ball.

Irvine then got a break. With the infield in, shortstop Chad Baker dived to his left to snag a line drive. He then went to second for the double play to end the inning.