Santiago seniors (from left) Chris Areco, Kingston Loera and Michael Doolin along with Coach Rafael Rodriguez.
Santiago baseball team’s playoff run came to an end on Friday afternoon as the Cavaliers fell to Temecula Prep 6-3 in the quarterfinal round of the CIF Division 9 playoffs at Santiago.
Temecula Prep pitcher Nikolaz Gonzalez was a one-man wrecking crew.
The senior right-handed pitcher limited Santiago to one run over the first 4 2/3 innings. Gonzalez, a left-handed batter, also pounded out four hits, including three extra base hits, scored three runs, had two RBI, and a stolen base.
Temecula Prep (16-11) advances to Tuesday’s semifinals for the first time since 2013 to face Rolling Hills Prep, which defeated Bethel Christian of Riverside on Friday.
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Santiago did not go quietly and made the game interesting all the way to the end. The Cavaliers (10-17) pushed across a run in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 6-2.
Matt Rubin lead off the bottom of the seventh inning for Santiago by drilling a single deep to left center field. Joshua Estrada came on in relief for Temecula Prep and recorded an infield out at second base for the first out of the inning.
Ben Barreto then walked, giving the Cavaliers runners at first and second with one out. One out later, Kingston Loera singled to load the bases.
It was the fourth time in the game Loera reached base. Leadoff hitter and starting Cavaliers pitcher Chris Santillano worked a walk, forcing in a run and trimming the lead to 6-3.
Chris Arceo then came to bat with the bases still loaded. He represented the winning run and Santillano was the tying run at first. Areco worked a full count and then hit a shot to left that was corralled by Elijah Shubin for the final out, giving Temecula Prep the victory.
Santiago Coach Rafael Rodriguez said he was proud of his team.
“The story is that we left way too many runners on base,” said Rodriguez. “I don’t know if it was the pressure or guys overthinking, but we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities. Our team started out slow this year. We had a a lot of injuries and we were hit hard with the flu. At midseason, we hit a six-game winning streak and finished second in league. I saw lots of improvement. I know these guys play hard and aggressive and we’re proud of them.”
The Cavaliers stranded 14 runners and left the bases loaded in the first, third, and and seventh innings. Santiago had runners on base in each inning, but the big hit eluded the Cavaliers.
Areco said it was an enjoyable season, even though it started out slow.
“It was very difficult for us at the beginning of the season,” said Areco. “We weren’t connecting and we weren’t clicking, but by midseason we started hitting better, playing good defense and our energy improved. We started winning and it was was enjoyable.”
Gonzalez and Cody Servin reached base in the first inning. Ryan Gomez ripped an RBI double, scoring Gonzalez. Servin scored later in the inning to make it 2-0.
“Gonzalez and Servin make my job job a lot easier because they always seem to get on base,” said Gomez, who had two hits, an RBI and was on base three times.
Gonzalez doubled to lead off the third inning and scored to up the Patriots lead to 3-0. Gonzalez cracked an RBI double in the fourth inning to extent the Temecula Prep lead to 4-0.
Meanwhile Gonzalez managed to keep the Cavaliers off the scoreboard. He stranded nine runners through the first three innings.
“My mindset was to get ground balls and locate my off speed stuff,” said Gonzalez, who has committed to Westcliff University. “I wasn’t nervous and I knew my defense was strong.”
“He’s been pitching like this all year,” said Servin, Gonzalez’s battery mate. “I’ve been playing on teams with him (Gonzalez) since I was 10-years old and he knows how to pitch and call a game.”
Santiago got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth inning. Baretto tripled to right, scoring Rubin from first base to cut the lead to 4-1. However, the Patriots countered with two runs in the sixth. Gonzalez drilled an RBI triple and Servin added an RBI double to increase the lead to 6-1.
Temecula Prep Coach Jason Litt said his team was ready for a tough battle.
“We practice intense moments and we feel if can keep teams to a single run, instead of a crooked number, we’re going to have a good chance of winning,” said Litt, who has been the Patriots coach for 19 years. “Today, we were able to avoid the big inning and we showed up and didn’t beat ourselves.”
Notes:
—-Santiago pitcher Chris Santillano had seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.
—Santiago defeated Gorman Charter and St. Pius/St. Matthias in the first two rounds of the playoffs while Temecula Prep defeated Pomona and Cobalt.
—Rubin and Barreto had two hits apiece for the Cavaliers.
—Kingston Loera, Chris Areco and Michael Doolin are the only seniors on the Cavaliers roster, therefore the future looks bright for Santiago.
—-The Cavaliers finished second in the Orange League this season and the Patriots finished fourth in the South Valley League.
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