Baseball: Murrieta Mesa keeps its storybook season alive, advances to Division 1 final

Murrieta Mesa opened in 2009 and had never even made the Southern Section baseball playoffs until this season. Now the Rams are headed to the Division 1 championship game after a 6-3 win over West Ranch in nine innings on Tuesday night at Blair Field.

In going from last place in the Southwestern League last season to playing for a championship in the toughest division in Southern California, the Rams can look to second baseman Kiel Palm for enduring a rollercoaster game. He blundered on a chance to catch a game-ending pop up in the bottom of the seventh, then delivered a two-run tie-breaking double in the top of the ninth, then caught the game-winning pop up in the bottom of the ninth with tying run at the plate.

“I end the game with the same play. That’s amazing,” Palm said. “Baseball is a game of love.”

Said Coach Bryn Wade: “The chance to overcome adversity is tremendous in this game and that kid I couldn’t be more proud of.”

Murrieta Mesa is one of the most unorthodox teams to reach a final. The team bunts and bunts until it gets it right. The Rams had six bunts against West Ranch, including three in a row in the fourth to score the game’s first run. The Rams also think their bullpen is similar to the Kansas City Royals, with Wade bringing in pitcher after pitcher in relief. Four pitchers threw Tuesday.

“We don’t teach any player is above any other player,” Wade said. “We have four, five six, seven No. 1s and whomever goes in is expected to do their job.”

An RBI single by Justin Randle in the top of the seventh gave Murrieta Mesa a 2-0 lead. But West Ranch rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. A one-out walk and single by Alex Lee, followed by a groundout cut the defict to 2-1 with two outs. That’s when Sam Gray hit a pop fly to center field. Palm was moving to catch the ball but thought center fielder Austen Salcedo might also catch it. It dropped to let the tying run score.

“That was my ball all the way,” Palm said.

Then he got his chance for redemption and Murriete Mesa (26-7) earned a spot in Saturday’s Division 1 final at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino.

For West Ranch, catcher Cade Spurlin threw out three runners trying to steal second. West Ranch had won 17 of its last 18 games and finishes with a 24-9 record.

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