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Wilson ends 57-year title drought, 5-1

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Times Staff Writer

Long Beach Wilson had not won a section baseball championship since 1950, when it defeated Santa Barbara.

The Bruins can now take that off their to-do list.

On Friday night, Wilson had too much for Anaheim Canyon -- too much pitching, hitting and fielding -- and rolled to a 5-1 victory in the Southern Section Division I final at Dodger Stadium.

The Bruins (32-3) had eight hits against three Canyon pitchers. They took a 3-0 lead after three innings. It was the fourth time in the last nine years that Wilson had reached the Division I final; the Bruins lost in 1999, 2000 and 2004.

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But this was the year -- the Bruins were ranked as the top high school team in the nation by Baseball America and had won a school-record 31 games coming into Friday’s contest. It was finally their turn.

If Wilson felt any pressure about ending the 57-year championship dry spell, it never showed.

“Getting runs early gave us the feeling we could relax a bit,” Wilson Coach Andy Hall said. “I really believe that having been here four years ago was a huge deal for us.

“We talked about slowing the game down when the adrenaline is flowing in a big venue like this. I think they took to that real well.”

No one did that better than senior left-hander Elliot Glynn (9-3), who pitched a three-hitter. Canyon’s only run came in the third, on a sacrifice fly by Gregg Winger.

“Our recipe in the playoffs has been get the first strike, get the first out, and let your defense do the work for you,” Hall said. “And he did that.”

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Canyon (20-11) won section titles in Division II in 1996 and Division III in 1997, and a 3-A title in 1984. The Comanches moved to Division I in 2005 but had not advanced beyond the quarterfinals until this season.

Canyon starter Gabe Garcia (5-2) lasted three innings against Wilson, giving up three runs and five hits before being replaced by Bobby Moulas. He lasted until the seventh, when Winger came on in relief. The Bruins got their final two runs in the seventh.

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ON THE WEB

Charter Oak defeats Santa Monica, 7-1, to win the Division IV title in memory of absent friends. Go to latimes.com/preps.

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mike.terry@latimes.com

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