Seventh inning rally lifts Fullerton past Fountain Valley in CIF playoff opener

Fullerton players (from left) Mathew Carbajal, Niko Savage, Niko Mendez, Zach Fany, George Papadatos and Conor Sunderland contributed to Friday’s win. (Photos: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

Fullerton High School’s baseball team has had a knack this season for late inning rallies. 

On Friday, Niko Mendez’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Indians a 5-4 victory over Fountain Valley in the opening round of the CIF Division 2 playoffs at Fullerton.

The Indians (19-7), the Freeway league champions, will host Gahr, who defeated Newport Harbor on Friday, next Tuesday in the second round.

With the game tied at 4-4, Niko Savage led off the bottom of the seventh for Fullerton and drilled a single to left.

“I knew I had to get on and I was looking for a first-pitch fastball,” said Savage.

Zach Fany then laid down a perfectly-placed sacrifice bunt to advance Savage to second. Conor Sunderland was intentionally walked and Nate Norman drew a walk to load the bases with one out.

Mendez followed by driving a deep fly to left field off reliever Tristan Moore that scored Savage from third base for the game winner. Mendez’s teammates then stormed the field and celebrated as they tackled Mendez to the ground.

“I’ve been in key spots before and all I wanted to do was hit the ball hard; I was looking for a fastball and I got it and hit it well enough,” said Mendez, who doubled in two runs in the third inning to give the Indians a 4-2 lead. “This is a big win, but we know each game is going to get harder and the competition will continue to get better.”

Fullerton got spectacular relief pitching from Mathew Carbajal. 

Carbajal came on in relief of starter George Papadatos with two-on and one-out in the fifth inning and shut the Barons down. The tall right hander gave up only one hit in two and 2/3 innings and picked off a runner to end the sixth inning and earned the win.

“I had some nerves, but George (Papadatos) set the tone with his energy and I just put my trust in my defense,” said Carbajal. “It’s amazing to win a close game like this.”

Norman said Carbajal was sharp.

“We’ve come to expect that kind of performance from Mathew; his off speed stuff had them off balance,” said Norman, who reached base three times in the game. “We had good focus, but we’re not satisfied. We don’t want the season to end.”

Norman’s two-run double gave Fullerton a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Fountain Valley (15-12) tied it by scoring single runs in the second and third innings on RBI by Sean Sullivan and Tyler Peshke. However, the Indians retook the lead on Mendez’s two-run double in the bottom of the third. Peshke’s RBI single tied the score 4-4 in the fifth inning. Carbajal entered the game with one out in the fifth and retired the first two batters he faced to end the Barons rally.

“Carbajal has been one of our best pitchers all season,” said Fullerton Coach Shaun Hill. “George didn’t have his best stuff today, but he battled. Carbajal just kept hitting the strike zone. Our team is filled with a bunch of blue collar guys who find a way to win.”

A couple of unusual plays occured during the game that tested the patience of both coaches.

With two-on and one-out in the first inning, Fountain Valley pulled off a double-steal, placing runners at second and third. However, the home plate umpire called umpires interference (on himself) and returned the runners to first and second.

The home plate umpire ruled that he interfered with Fullerton’s catcher (Nate Norman) on Norman’s throw to third base and called interference. The next Fountain Valley batter then hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. 

“It’s an unusual call, but we’ve seen it a few times this year,” said Barons Coach Gerardo Gonzalez.

In the fifth inning Johnny Long walked to lead off the inning and Tyler Arevalos, who had three hits,singled to right. Indians shortstop Zach Fany took the throw from the right fielder Niko Savage and held onto the ball. 

Moments later, as Long took a lead off second base, Fany tagged Long out. Long was ruled out but Gonzalez argued that time had been called. After the umpires huddled to discuss the play, Long was ruled safe. Hill protested the call, but it stood. The Barons scored twice in the inning to tied the game at 4-4.  Following the game, both coaches had different perspectives on the ruling.

Fany said it was a great win for his team.

“I play travel ball with half of their team and one of their coaches is my travel ball coach,” said Fany, who had a hit, scored a run and played outstanding defense at shortstop. “We wanted to play in Division 2 this season and we know it’s going to get harder and more challenging, but we’ll be ready.’

Gonzalez said that he was proud of his team, despite the loss.

“We had 14 new varsity players this year and only four guys back from last year; I’m proud of these guys,” said Gonzalez. “They’re a good team and they made less mistakes than we did. We made too many mistakes on the bases and that cost us.”  

For full view of the photo, click on the picture:

   ––Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone