Westlake Returns to Final

Tyler Adamczyk was a freshman at the time, years away from the power and prowess he has displayed this season as a senior at Westlake High.

He went to the 1998 Southern Section Division III baseball final as a fan, a member of the junior varsity. He sat in the Dodger Stadium stands and winced as Westlake blew a one-run lead in the seventh inning and lost to South Hills.

Time has flown since then, leading to Tuesday at Westlake, where the 6-foot-5 Adamczyk helped the Warriors earn another trip to Dodger Stadium by pitching a five-hitter in a 7-2 Division III semifinal victory over Norte Vista.

Catcher Mike Nickeas, who was also a freshman when Westlake played in the 1998 final, hit a two-run home run for the Warriors, who will play No. 3-seeded El Dorado (25-5) for the title at 1 p.m. Saturday.

It has been a long, sometimes challenging road for the top-seeded Warriors (25-6-1), who started slowly in Marmonte League play, losing to Thousand Oaks and tying Newbury Park. They needed to rally in the last week of the season to secure the league championship.

But the Warriors were nearly flawless Tuesday, committing no errors and scoring on timely hits. Norte Vista had five errors.

Westlake has faced questions this season. Against Norte Vista, the Warriors provided plenty of answers.

“We’ve learned how to battle this year,” said Nickeas, who has signed with Georgia Tech. “It helped us a lot in this game and it’s going to help us at Dodger Stadium.”

Nickeas homered in the fifth, giving the Warriors a 4-1 lead.

Norte Vista (24-6) scored a run in the sixth, but the Warriors answered with three. An inning later, Westlake turned its third double play in the final four innings.

“That’s the ticket,” Westlake Coach Chuck Berrington said. “If we can do that, I don’t think there’s anybody out there that can beat us.

“When you’ve got a guy throwing 90 mph on the mound, that helps too.”

Adamczyk (7-0), who has signed with California, struck out five, walked three and hit a batter in six innings. His biggest mistakes came against first baseman Jermaine Horn, who hit solo home runs in the second and sixth innings.

Afterward, Adamczyk reflected on how the future could help change the past.

“It was kind of depressing then,” Adamczyk said of the 1998 final.

“But I’m going to win a championship.”

John Hanley (10-2) of Norte Vista, who has signed with Cal State Fullerton, allowed four runs and six hits in five innings.