SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION VI BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : Southern California Christian Caught in Second Round

After sneaking up on the competition this season, Southern California Christian finally was caught Tuesday by Carpinteria Cate, 13-4, in a second-round Division VI baseball game at Hart Park.

“This was the first game we got spanked all year,” said Flame Coach Alton Steele, in his first season.

Not only did the loss end the Flames’ season, it stopped their eight-game winning streak, which the club rode to a second-place finish in the Arrowhead League.

The host Flames (12-10) trailed 5-3 after four innings when Cate came to bat in the fifth. The Rams (15-2-1) scored five runs, two of which came on center fielder Ryan Maple’s triple.

Down by seven runs, Steele pulled pitcher Ron Wood, who had replaced starter Tim St. Clair in the second, for Boomer Felton.

However, there wasn’t much Steele could do as the third-seeded Rams kept the Flames on the ropes by scoring three more runs in the sixth inning, which was capped by Matt Horowitz’s run-scoring double to left.

Cate, the Condor League champion, also experienced pitching problems. The Rams’ ace, B.J. Baker, was able to complete only three innings before Coach Ben Soto pulled him.

In other Division VI games:

Liberty Christian 16, Santa Maria Valley Christian 5--John Church had three hits, including a double and a home run, and five RBIs and Nate Sharp had three hits and three RBIs for the visiting Minutemen (15-7), who will play Linfield, a 16-9 winner over Riverside Bethel Christian, in the quarterfinals Friday. Valley Christian finished 10-7.

Mammoth 6, Cal Lutheran 5--Matt Krug, starting pitcher for Cal Lutheran (16-3), scored a run in the sixth and drove in Erik Olsen on a double in the seventh. Joel Walker, who had two doubles and a single, had one RBI and two runs scored for host Cal Lutheran (16-3).

Hesperia Christian 13, St. Margaret’s 9--St. Margaret’s, the Academy League’s No. 1 team, ended its season at 13-3.