Tuchman One-Ups Sonora

Evan Tuchman’s two-out single in the seventh inning lifted Calabasas High to a 6-5 victory over Sonora in a Southern Section Division III second-round game at Calabasas.

The Coyotes (19-8), the Frontier League champions who have won eight of its last nine games by one run, trailed after starter Justin Segal allowed two runs in the seventh to give the Raiders (23-5) a 5-4 lead.

But Mike Benford singled on a full count to lead off the seventh. With one out, Kevin Cohn singled on an 0-2 pitch to tie the score, 5-5.

Tuchman, a senior who had a run-scoring double in Calabasas’ four-run fourth inning, singled on a 1-2 slider to score Cohn.

“That would have been my last high school at-bat if I had struck out,” Tuchman said. “I didn’t want it to end like that.”

Matt Green (3-1) earned the victory in relief of Segal, who surrendered a three-run home run to Brett Smith in the first inning and a solo home run to David Gaxiola with one out in the seventh inning to tie the score.

Segal allowed five runs in 6 2/3 innings, his worst outing of the season.

In other second-round games:

Division I

Fountain Valley 3, Camarillo 1--Right fielder Delmon Young left with an injury in the first inning and the Scorpions left the playoffs a few innings later.

Young, among the top pro prospects in the nation as a sophomore, rolled his right ankle after hitting a run-scoring double in his first at-bat and did not return.

The injury seemed to sap the life out of the Scorpions (24-7), who saw two baserunners erased in the first three innings.

Justin Frash led off the second with a double but was picked off second base. Travis Sutton led off the third with a single and moved to second on another hit, but later was caught in a rundown.

“I can’t remember a guy getting picked off second all year for us,” Coach Scott Cline said.

Said Fountain Valley Coach Ron LaRuffa: “Those two outs were huge. Our defense was outstanding, and that’s a key in the playoffs.”

Fountain Valley (18-8) scored all the runs it would need in the third, when Joe Charboneau doubled and scored on Brandon Daguio’s single.

Daguio scored on Jason Cayton’s double to left-center for a 2-1 lead.

Josh Bartusick (5-5) limited Camarillo to eight hits. He retired eight of the last nine batters.

Bartusick worked out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the seventh by striking out Mark Cardella on a 3-and-2 count.

Cline lamented his team’s lack of production. The Scorpions had five players batting over .400, including Young, who had a .471 average with eight home runs and 30 runs batted in.

“It was a shocker, a tough situation to have happen,” Cline said of Young’s injury. “But we’re a young team and we should be able to bounce back.

“We just didn’t come to play today, and that’s a shame.”