Late rally powers Mater Dei past Fountain Valley, Monarchs headed off to CIF finals

Mater Dei was led by (from left) Lawson Olmstead, Landon Gordon and Brandon Thomas in Tuesday’s win. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

Mater Dei High School’s baseball team rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and recorded a dramatic 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Fountain Valley in a CIF Division 2 semifinal playoff game Tuesday at Mater Dei.

The Monarchs (19-13) advance to the CIF finals for the first time since 2010 and will face West Branch of Stevenson Ranch either Friday or Saturday.

The CIF plans to announce the time and locations of the baseball finals on Wednesday. Fountain Valley (18-14) was attempting to reach the finals for the first time since 1996.   

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The Monarchs hit only one ball out of the infield in the sixth inning but took advantage of a walk, a batter hit by-a-pitch, an infield single, an error and a base hit to take the lead for the first time in the game.

Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Dylan Wetzel worked a one out walk. Brandon Thomas was then hit by the pitch on a 1-2 count, giving Mater Dei runners on first and second with one out. Bradley Beaudreau, a Fordham commit, followed by hitting a soft tapper in front of the plate.

However, Fountain Valley catcher, Ethan Cortez, was unable to pick up the ball and Beaudreau reached first to load the bases.

Brady Guth grounded out to short for the second out of the inning and Wetzel scored on the play to cut the score to 4-3. CJ Ciampa then pinched hit and grounded to Tyler Peshke at shortstop; however, the Barons first baseman couldn’t hold onto to Peshke’s throw, allowing Thomas to score the tying run. Lawson Olmstead, a Cal Berkley commit, followed with an RBI single to left scoring Beaudreau and giving the Monarchs a 5-4 lead. 

“Never count us out,” said Olmstead. “We fought and we got it done like we did against Semi Valley. We dreamed about going to the finals. We’ll remember this game forever.”   

Mater Dei’s pitching ace, Brandon Thomas, a Fresno State commit, came on in the seventh inning and closed out the game to propel the Monarchs to the finals. 

“My job is to get outs,” said Thomas. “We worked hard for four years to get to the finals and now we have to go and win it.”

Mater Dei got outstanding relief pitching from Landon Gordon, who entered the game in the first inning with two runners on and one run in. Gordon pitched six innings and held the Barons to one run and five hits and kept the Monarchs within striking distance.

“I was ready to come in and pitch whenever I was needed,” said Gordon, who earned the victory. “For a while it seems like we didn’t have a flicker, but our team got on a roll. We have a lot of fight in us. It’s exciting to be going to the finals.”

Fountain Valley scored three runs in the top of the first inning, highlighted by Josh Grack’s two-run RBI triple. Unfortunately for the Barons, Grack was tagged out at home trying for an inside the park home run.

In the bottom of the first, the Monarchs started strong, but a base running gaffe costs them. Sebastain Navarro led off with a single and Ezekiel Lara ripped a double to right center.

Wetzel grounded out for the first out of the inning but Navarro was able to score on the play. However, moments later, Lara was picked off second base by Grack for the second out. Grack then retired Thomas to end the inning and limit Mater Dei to one run.

Anthony Zamora blasted a one-out home run in the second inning to left to give the Barons a 4-1 lead.

“It’s the first home run I ever hit in my life; I was so excited,” said Zamora, who jumped up and down as he rounded first base and realized it was a home run. “I thought it was a double at first but then I saw it went over the fence; it was such a good feeling.”

Olmstead walked to open the bottom of the third inning and was sacrificed to second base and scored on an infield error to cut the score to 4-2.

Mater Dei Coach Richard Mercado said he felt confident his team would rally back.

“When we came to bat in the sixth inning, I felt pretty good and I could tell the guys did as well,” said Mercado.

“We put together a couple of good at bats; Dylan worked the zone and drew a walk. When Beaudreau hit that tapper, I could see that it had a lot of spin on it, and it was going to be hard to pick up. Logan then came up with that huge hit. I knew Brandon would come in and pitch the seventh and finish it off. He has ice in his veins and isn’t afraid of anything.”   

Despite being disappointed, Fountain Valley Coach Geraldo Gonzalez was upbeat and said he has a good outlook for the future of his team.

“We started five underclassmen today, so I feel good about next season,” said Gonzalez. “We basically lost the middle of our infield in the beginning of the season to a player who decided to give up baseball and another who was injured, but we responded and adjusted. I told the guys after the game that life is filled with ups and downs, and this was one of them. I love these guys, and they did their best.”

Notes:

—The Monarchs defeated South Hills, Semi Valley, and Foothill to reach Tuesday’s semifinal. Fountain Valley beat El Segundo, Trabuco Hills, and Torrance in the first three rounds of the playoffs.  

—Mater Dei is 6-4 in one-run games this season and Fountain Valley is 4-4.

—Fountain Valley lost four of their last five regular season games but rebounded to win its first three playoff games. Mater Dei has won six consecutive games after dropping seven straight games down the stretch in the regular season.