El Toro’s Hughes Stymies Aliso Niguel

El Toro waited until the final day of the regular season to qualify for the Division I baseball playoffs. On Tuesday the Chargers showed they are in no hurry to leave.

A 2-0 victory over host Aliso Niguel in a wild-card game earned El Toro (16-11) a Friday meeting with top-seeded Servite. Charger Coach Tom McCaffrey didn’t sound intimidated at the prospect of facing the Friars (23-2) and undefeated pitcher Brian Wolfe.

“Hey, we had to play there last year and it was a very good game,” said McCaffrey, recalling the 5-4 Servite victory. “We’re looking forward to going back.”

The Chargers--who made the playoffs by defeating Sea View League co-champion Corona del Mar last Thursday--benefited from an excellent performance by Brian Hughes (5-4).

The senior right-hander struck out nine and held the Wolverines (18-8) to three singles. Only one Aliso Niguel runner reached second.

“He’s what you’d term ‘unimpressively impressive,’ ” McCaffrey said. “He doesn’t throw hard, but he’s always around the plate. He threw a ton of breaking pitches today and kept them off balance.”

Said Hughes: “The breaking ball is usually my best pitch. I threw it more than usual, but I was hitting all my spots.”

Hughes, who missed part of the season because of a broken collarbone, singled in the first run in the second inning. The Chargers got another run in the sixth when Josue Lopez’s single got past right fielder Courtney Hemerick for an error. Grant Plumley, who opened the inning with a single, scored from first.

In another Division I wild-card game:

San Clemente 4, Esperanza 2--Adam Little hit two home runs to lead San Clemente (17-10). Reliever Steve Schroer entered the game with two on and one out in the bottom of the seventh. Schroer hit a batter to load the bases, then struck out Scott Hendrickson to earn his second save.

In Division III wild-card games:

Magnolia 8, Lakewood Artesia 5--James Gadsden doubled in the winning run in the sixth inning for Magnolia (13-12), which visits El Dorado on Friday.

Sonora 5, Garden Grove 0--Brett Smith (7-4) threw a four-hitter, striking out 10 for Sonora (13-13). Brandon Shaw had three hits and an RBI for the Raiders, who visit Torrance on Friday.

In Division V:

Whittier Christian 14, St. Margaret’s 4 (6, mercy)--Jordan Bodell hit a grand slam during the Heralds’ six-run third inning. Whittier Christian (13-11) visits fourth-seeded Brentwood next.