SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : DIVISION III : La Quinta Rolls Past Santa Fe

Thanks to a six-run second inning, La Quinta Coach Dave Demarest was able to take a gamble that improved his team’s chances of winning the Southern Section Division III baseball title.

The Aztecs added three runs in the fourth inning and went on to a 10-1 victory over Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe in a semifinal game Tuesday at Cerritos College. Santa Fe (25-2) was the second-seeded team in the division.

Once the lead reached nine runs in the third, Demarest removed starting pitcher Jim Livernois (13-2) in favor of Steve Combs.

Livernois pitched three innings Tuesday, leaving him with 21 outs left when the Aztecs (25-5) play Tustin at 1 p.m. Saturday in the championship game at Anaheim Stadium. Under section rules, pitcher are allowed 30 outs in a week.

“When it was 6-0 we started to think about it,” Demarest said. “We were looking at eight (runs) as the total that we could remove him.”

Ken Granger’s two-run single in the fourth made Livernois’ exit possible. The single to left came after Bobby Ruiz had been hit by a pitch and Joe Linck had doubled down the right-field line. Granger stole second and scored on a single by Sean Carlson to put the Aztecs ahead, 9-0. Granger finished with two hits and drove in four runs.

“It’s sweet,” Granger said about the chance to play for the title. “We weren’t intimidated (playing the No. 2 team). We’re playing good ball.”

Granger had a single to drive in the first run of the six-run second. Livernois later walked with the bases loaded to make it 2-0 with two outs. Ruiz’s single drove home two more runs, and Linck and Zane Parkin also had RBI singles in the inning.

Jose Trejo had three hits, and Linck, Parkin and Sean Carlson had two hits each for La Quinta, which had 13.

“These guys right now can’t be playing any better baseball,” Demarest said. “This is the best offensive team I’ve ever had.”

Santa Fe had a chance to come back in the bottom of the third, but in an odd twist, an error help prevent a possible rally.

The Chiefs loaded the bases with no outs and their best two hitters--Mark Kotsay and Ryan DeWitt--were coming up. DeWitt, who was hitting .490, hit a long foul down the left-field line that would have been a sacrifice fly except Carlson dropped it.

Kotsay then lined to left, but not deep enough for a run to score. Livernois got DeWitt--who was hitting .470 with 11 home runs--to ground into a double play, ending the inning.

“We’ve going to the title game and we’ve got our ace going,” Demarest said. “If we’re not good enough then we’re not. But we’ll give it our best shot.”