Oliver’s Dash in Ninth Is Last Twist

Ten minutes after Chris Oliver made his mad dash for home plate that sent Crescenta Valley High into the Southern Section Division I baseball quarterfinals, he was still gasping for air.

But it was hard to tell what made Oliver breathless, the wild pitch from Royal’s Mike Byer that brought him home in the bottom of the ninth inning or the way the Falcons rallied from a three-run deficit for a 5-4 victory Tuesday afternoon at Stengel Field.

“I had to go on any chance I could,” said Oliver, a senior center fielder. “We had to be aggressive.”

Crescenta Valley (22-3-1), the Pacific League champion, will play Palmdale on Friday.

A coin flip will decide who picks the neutral site.

Marmonte League champion Royal (18-8) appeared headed for the quarterfinals after scoring three runs in the top of the fifth.

Tony Ortega, who had three hits in the Highlanders’ first-round victory, had three more by the fifth inning Tuesday as Royal took a 4-1 lead.

But from the moment Crescenta Valley rallied with three runs--highlighted by a two-run double by Ryan McKnight--in the sixth, the Falcons had all of the momentum.

Royal starter Brett Wayne had been throwing well, striking out the side in the fourth, but began to tire.

“I was in a groove,” Wayne said. “But then I started getting [the pitches] up and they hit them.”

Crescenta Valley reliever Jordan Olson (9-1) handcuffed the Highlanders after giving up a two-run single to Wayne, the first batter he faced. Olson held Royal to two hits over the final 4 2/3 innings and finished with eight strikeouts.

The Falcons had more chances to win.

After scoring the three runs in the sixth, Crescenta Valley loaded the bases with one out, but Wayne struck out Bruce McReynolds and Mark McCauley to keep the score tied, 4-4.

McKnight walked to open the eighth, was bunted to second base and reached third base on a ground ball by Eric Snyder. McKnight would get no farther as Luke Peterson struck out to end the inning.

The ninth looked to be more of the same for the Falcons. Byer (8-4), working his third inning of relief, retired the first two batters, but consecutive singles by Oliver and Nathan Barber put runners on first and third.

With left-handed cleanup hitter Tim Balkey set to face the left-handed Byer, Falcon Coach Phil Torres called a timeout.

“I told [Chris] with a lefty facing a lefty to watch for the breaking ball in the dirt,” Torres said. “And if he sees it, then go for it.”

Torres turned clairvoyant on the fourth pitch. Balkey swung and missed on a low breaking ball that skipped by catcher Buzz Byer.

“But he almost didn’t go,” Torres said.

Even with the late start, Oliver probably would have beaten the tag, but the point became moot when Mike Byer dropped the toss home from Buzz Byer.

Now Torres must figure out who pitches in the quarterfinal game.

Olson, who won the Falcons’ first-round game against Notre Dame, appeared to be the logical choice before the extra innings, but after throwing 64 pitches Olson has less than six innings left this week. High school pitchers are limited to 10 innings per week.

Josh Herman, the starter on Tuesday, gave up six hits and struck out four in 4 1/3 innings.

“I’ll be able to go the whole way if I have to,” Olson said. “I’ll be ready.”