SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL / DIVISION II : Sonora’s Eight-Run Inning Overwhelms Magnolia

During a fourth-inning huddle, with his team trailing Magnolia by five runs, Sonora Coach Pat Tellers said he wanted to see nine men come to the plate. He didn’t get what he wanted.

Instead, the Raiders sent 14 batters to the plate, scored eight runs on nine hits and cruised to a 12-5 quarterfinal victory over the Sentinels in a Division II baseball game Friday at Magnolia High.

Sonora (22-4-2) will meet Temecula Valley (25-3) in a semifinal Tuesday.

“I just told them to relax,” Tellers said. “We started the game very, very tight and I just said, ‘Hey, treat this like an intrasquad and go get them.’ ”

A two-run double by Matt Newman, a two-run single by David Haller and a couple of RBI singles by Albert Lopez gave Sonora an 8-5 lead and the Raiders never looked back.

“You got to give Sonora credit,” Magnolia Coach Manny Rodriguez said. “They battled back and I’m sure they will represent Orange County well in our division.

“It was heck of a season,” he said. “We got a taste of CIF this season, and with six starters coming back, they’ll be hungry for more.”

Magnolia (17-7) took a 4-0 lead in the first inning when James Penner hit a three-run home run off Junior Rodriguez.

In the third inning, Edgar Castaneda’s run-scoring single made it 5-0.

David Miller (8-3) gave up only one hit in 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

“You couldn’t ask for a better performance,” Tellers said about his senior right-hander. “We were a little worried about using him on only three days rest, but he came in and did a heck of a job.”

Miller, who also started and won Tuesday’s second-round 5-4 victory over El Segundo, told his coach not to worry about having too much fun after the game.

“I’ll be in bed by 8 p.m. tonight,” Miller told Tellers with a tired grin on his face.