Evans Pitches In to Spark Crespi Past Bell Gardens

The Crespi High baseball team did only three things well in its second-round Division I playoff game against Bell Gardens in Commerce on Tuesday.

Unfortunately for the Lancers, they were pitching, hitting and defense.

The final: Crespi 14, Bell Gardens 2.

“They’re a great team,” Bell Gardens Coach Mike McCurdy said. “Every hitter is a tough out. Whoever beats them is going to have to play a great game.”

Crespi (26-2), which has won 16 in a row, will play Ocean View in the quarterfinals on Friday at a site to be determined.

The top-seeded Celts got the performance they needed from senior right-hander Keith Evans, the team’s No. 2 starter.

Evans, who had not pitched since May 8, allowed four hits, struck out seven and didn’t walked a batter in six innings. Jorvic Salazar pitched the seventh.

“(Evans) threw well,” catcher Casey Snow said. “His fastball was good, and after a few innings, his curve was on.”

By pitching well, Evans allowed the Celts to rest ace Jeff Suppan for Friday’s game.

At the plate, Crespi had no trouble with right-hander Jorge Andrade, who allowed only a bunt single in the Lancers’ 1-0 upset of Newbury Park in the first round. But the Celts found his breaking balls to their liking, pounding out 14 hits.

“He had junk, but no overpowering fastball to keep us off balance,” Evans said.

Snow led the attack by going three for three with three runs batted in, including an inside-the-park home run.

The Celts hit five balls off the fence and one over it--Jeff Suppan’s 10th home run.

Crespi put the game away with five unearned runs in a wild second inning. The Celts loaded the bases with one out, when Gus Jordt struck out on a ball that got away from catcher Norbert Sandoval.

One run scored on the wild pitch and another scored when Sandoval overthrew Andrade covering the plate.

Here’s where it got confusing: Because first base was occupied at the time of the strikeout, Jordt was out, but he started running anyway. When Bell Gardens (13-14-1) threw the ball away trying to retire Jordt--again--Jordt was called for interference and the umpires sent Brad Farlow back to third.

At that point, the Celts protested the game. But Farlow scored on Javier Avila’s double and Avila and Darren McInerney, who singled, scored on Snow’s 390-foot double to center, putting the game away and making the protest a moot point.