Notre Dame Shows Its True Colors, 10-3 : High school baseball: After struggling early, Knights overcome two-run deficit and Fontana.

What, me worry?

Not if you are Notre Dame High baseball Coach Tom Dill and you have your ace on the mound, even when he is struggling in the early innings.

And certainly not when you know your team has the firepower to break open a game at any time.

The Knights rallied from a two-run deficit to beat Fontana, 10-3, in the Southern Section Division I quarterfinals Friday at Fontana.

Notre Dame will face Simi Valley on Tuesday in the semifinals.

Notre Dame (22-5) took control with six runs in the third inning after spotting the Steelers (19-5-1) two runs in the first.

“We’ve come from behind all year long,” Dill said. “We have the confidence now.”

Knight left-hander Chris Leveque (12-1) was uncharacteristically shaky in the first two innings, giving up four hits and a walk before settling down for his second victory of the playoffs.

Fontana got to Leveque in the first with one out when Paul Orabona walked and Danny Hidalgo tripled him home with a shot to the left-center-field fence. Cleanup batter Richard Gallardo knocked in Hidalgo with a single to center field.

The Steelers (19-5-1) opened the second with consecutive hits by catcher Kevin Kecskes and second baseman Larry Magana, but catcher Dave Supple gunned down Magana at first after he wandered off a little too far on an attempted bunt by designated hitter Jeff Estep. Leveque struck out Estep and got shortstop Jeff Kagle on a popup to short.

“I was getting (the pitches) up and I wasn’t hitting my spots,” Leveque said.

Fontana right-hander Ray Palomares (8-1) was far from overpowering but hit his target with precision until the Knights tagged him for the six runs in the third on four hits and an error.

Supple provided the big blow, crushing a 1-and-1 pitch over the left-center-field fence for a two-out, three-run home run. He also knocked in the final run of the game in the seventh inning on a grounder that bounced off third baseman Gallardo and ricocheted to Kagle, who threw out Supple at first.

“We knew it would take a lot more than (two runs) to win,” Fontana Coach Steve Hernandez said. “They got on a roll and they are tough to beat when they do that.”

Leveque gave up only two hits after the second inning and finished with five strikeouts. One of those hits, a two-out single to left field by Kecskes in the sixth, produced Fontana’s third run. Palomares also went the distance.

Third baseman Cesar Martinez had two hits, including a triple, and scored two runs for Notre Dame.

Right fielder Francisco Dongo was two for four and designated hitter Chris Garza knocked in three runs with a two-run single in the third and a sacrifice fly in the seventh.