BASEBALL / DOLE BIG WEST TOURNAMENT : Perfect Matchup Backfires for La Quinta’s Ace in 4-3 Loss to Lakewood

La Quinta Coach Dave Demarest thought it was a perfect matchup.

He brought in his ace, Jim Livernois, to get the final two outs. But Lakewood rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 4-3 victory in the quarterfinals of the Dole Big West Invitational baseball tournament Tuesday at University High.

“We were in the position we wanted to be in,” Demarest said. “But there’s no second-guessing. Our starter told me he was tired and I have an all-county player to bring in . . . I’d do it again.”

After La Quinta starter Joe Garcia walked Andre Camou with one out, Livernois was brought in and retired Jon Weber on a fly ball to center.

Camou advanced to second on a wild pitch, then Lakewood’s David McRill hit a double off the left-field fence to score him and tie the score at 3.

Cleanup hitter Casey Martin followed with a line drive over the head of La Quinta right fielder Doug Lowry, scoring McRill with the winning run.

“It was a nerve-racking game,” Lakewood Coach Spud O’Neil said. “I’m proud of the way the kids came from behind and didn’t quit.”

Garcia didn’t quit until he tired in the seventh.

Garcia, a sophomore left-hander, kept Lakewood (10-4) off balance for 6 1/3 innings with off-speed pitches. He allowed five hits, three walks and three earned runs and struck out four.

Lakewood’s Luke Fitzpatrick (4-1) pitched a complete game, allowing five hits and three earned runs with four walks and seven strikeouts.

La Quinta (12-3) got to Fitzpatrick early, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the second when designated hitter Joel London hit a two-run single to center to score Anibal Delacruz and Sean Carlson.

But a baserunning mistake and botched squeeze play cut the inning short for the Aztecs.

Lakewood tied it, 2-2, with two runs in the bottom of the second. Steve Immel hit a double to right-center field to score Fitzpatrick, then Ryan Bresnahan drove in Matt Dempsey from third with a groundout to shortstop.

La Quinta took a 3-2 lead when Carlson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the third inning, but Fitzpatrick got out of the jam by getting Corey Fox to ground out to second.

Fitzpatrick retired 13 of the final 16 batters he faced and did not allow a hit after the third inning.

In other quarterfinal-round games:

Irvine 9, Huntington Beach 2--Irvine upset second-ranked Huntington Beach to advance to one semifinal to play Lakewood at 7:30 tonight at Windrow Park in Irvine.

Irvine had beaten Arroyo Grande, 3-1, in Monday’s first-round game.

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Servite 4, Modesto Grace Davis 2--Brian Greene pitched a two-hitter in the victory for Servite (7-4-1). Greene is 1-0.

John Goldsmith and Mike Sullivan each had two hits for the Friars, who scored once in the first and three times in the sixth to take a 4-1 lead.

Servite plays Marina at 4:30 p.m. at Windrow Park in Irvine. Grace Davis is 11-4.

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Marina 16, University 2--Marina improves to 10-5 and University falls to 5-9-1.