Arlington Edges Capistrano Valley

Riverside Arlington Coach Gary Rungo didn’t hesitate to summon Lucas Duda to pitch Tuesday night.

Never mind that starter Daniel Montanez had given up only one hit through five innings against third-seeded Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley in a Southern Section Division I semifinal at Blair Field in Long Beach.

Duda got the last six outs to preserve a 1-0 victory and send the Lions to the title game for the third time in six years.

It was the fourth straight save in the playoffs for Duda, a USC-bound senior, and Arlington’s fourth consecutive one-run victory.

The Lions (20-10) will meet Long Beach Wilson (23-9-1) for the championship at 7 p.m. Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

After the Lions scored their run on a two-out, bases-loaded single by Ryan O’Connell in the fourth, the Cougars (22-7-1) put together their best scoring opportunity in the sixth.

Bryan Donoho was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, causing Rungo to summon Duda. Donoho took third on a wild pitch and a sacrifice, bringing Jason Corder to the plate with one out. Duda got Corder, who came into the game with 14 home runs, to ground out to third and Steve Rodriguez to pop out to second.

In the first game of the Division I doubleheader, Wilson managed only three hits but took advantage of six walks, three passed balls and two errors to defeat Moreno Valley Canyon Springs, 4-0.

Freshman right-hander Ryan Dent (2-1) threw 5 1/3 innings for Wilson before senior Ryan Schlack took over, retiring the last five batters.

-- Dan Arritt

Simi Valley 8, Corona Santiago 7 -- Dylan Gaughen hit a two-out grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning to wipe out a three-run deficit and lift the Pioneers to a Southern Section Division II semifinal victory at Simi Valley.

Gaughen picked up the pitching victory with three innings of shaky relief, relying more on adrenaline after throwing 10 1/3 innings in the last two playoff games. “I’ve never been so tired after a baseball game,” he said.

Simi Valley (26-7) will play Placentia El Dorado, which beat Newhall Hart, 3-2, in eight innings, in the Division II final at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Dodger Stadium. The Pioneers will be making their first title-game appearance since losing in Division I to Anaheim Esperanza in 1993. Santiago finished 23-6.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Rancho Santa Margarita Tesoro 4, Westminster La Quinta 1 -- Justin Napora hit a two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie and help unseeded Tesoro (20-10) upset top-seeded La Quinta (28-2-1) and advance to the Division IV final in the school’s second varsity season.

Tesoro will play Pacific Coast League rival and third-seeded Corona del Mar (24-5), which scored a 6-5 semifinal victory over another league member, Irvine Northwood (20-11). Tesoro failed to beat the Sea Kings in three tries this season.

-- Mike Haubrich