UPPER DECK BASEBALL TOURNAMENT : El Dorado Takes It on the Chin

Suffering a blowout loss should prompt concern from any coach worth his salt--no matter the talent level of a superior opponent.

So it was easy to understand the somber demeanor of El Dorado baseball Coach Steve Gullotti on Wednesday night after his team was routed by San Diego Rancho Bernardo, 10-2, in the semifinals of the Upper Deck Classic at Cal State Fullerton.

And while there was no disgrace in losing to a team ranked third in the nation in the preseason poll by USA Today, Gullotti saw some bad signs--very bad.

“We have a lot of improving to do,” Gullotti said. “These games against good teams have exposed some of our weaknesses.

“We’re making too many mistakes at critical times.”

Things went much better for Rancho Bernardo (7-3), which did its part to set up an all-San Diego championship game. The Broncos will meet San Diego Mission Bay (10-0)--ranked No. 4 by USA Today--for the title at 7 tonight at Cal State Fullerton.

The Golden Hawks (9-4) play Clovis (10-4) at 1:30 p.m. at El Dorado for third place. Clovis lost to Mission Bay, 9-5, in the other championship semifinal.

The Broncos were boosted by a strong performance from junior right-hander Ryan Bailey (1-1), who was making only his second start.

Bailey, who was called up from the junior varsity at the start of the season after injuries decimated the varsity pitching staff, pitched six innings and allowed both runs. He gave up nine hits and had seven strikeouts before being relieved with two on and none out in the seventh inning.

The game was over early.

Aided by four El Dorado errors, Rancho Bernardo scored all of its runs in the first four innings. The Broncos held a 6-0 lead after two innings.

Rancho Bernardo tagged El Dorado ace Benito Flores (2-3) for all its runs. The senior left-hander gave up seven earned runs and was pulled in the fourth inning.

“It wasn’t as bad as it looked,” Gullotti said. “He doesn’t give up as many runs if we cover the bags and don’t make so many errors.”

In other tournament games:

Troy 10, Brooklyn Xaverian (N.Y.) 5--Trevor Brown drove in three runs, including the game-winner, as the Warriors advanced to play Cooper City (Fla.) in the consolation championship game at 3:30 p.m. today at Cal State Fullerton.

Cooper City (Fla.) 8, Esperanza 3--Joey DeSantis pitched a complete game, striking out seven and walking one, in leading Cooper City (Fla.) to a consolation-bracket victory at Esperanza High. Esperanza (5-7) faces Xaverian (Brooklyn, N.Y.) in the 11th-place game at 10 a.m. today at El Dorado High.

Mater Dei 1, Lafayette (Kent.) 0--Adam Harris retired 21 of the 23 batters he faced, allowing one hit and striking out 11, as the Monarchs advanced to play Canyon Del Oro (Ariz.) in the fifth-place game at noon today at Amerige Park.