Kennedy Pitches La Quinta to Title

Ian Kennedy pitched a three-hitter and had nine strikeouts as Westminster La Quinta defeated Garden Grove Pacifica, 2-1, to win the Southern Section Division IV baseball championship Saturday, a year after losing in the title game.

Cole Garner’s two-run double to left-center gave La Quinta (30-2) a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning at Edison Field, and the Aztecs held on to beat their Garden Grove League rival for the third time this season.

The game was closer than the teams’ previous two -- La Quinta won by scores of 4-0 and 8-1 in the last week of the regular season -- but Pacifica (27-4) mustered only one run, Travis Bernard scoring from third after a throwing error by Kennedy in the sixth inning.

The victory was a welcome change for La Quinta, which lost to La Puente Bishop Amat in last season’s Division IV championship by the same 2-1 score.

“It’d be hard to celebrate if we got this close and lost,” said La Quinta Coach Dave Demarest, in his 30th season.

Pacifica was undone by two baserunning gaffes. Robert Marinez was picked off second in the sixth inning to undermine a rally and Brad Wilson was caught trying to steal second for the final out of the game with Bernard at bat.

“That’s one I’m going to live with for a long time,” Pacifica Coach Andy Lewis said.

-- Mike Bresnahan