Photos by Tara Masucci
Baseball:
Finally, their critics got it right.
Ayala’s depleted pitching staff was going to fail in the quarterfinal round of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs.
The Bulldogs even fell behind, 3-0, at Corona, just two innings into Friday’s contest.
For the third time this season, however, the Bulldogs rallied from an early deficit against this same Corona team, and for the third time, Ayala defeated the Panthers.
This time, the final score was 7-3.
Thomas Cerecedes went the first four innings and was credited with the win after his buddies scored two runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
Cerecedes was charged with three runs on nine hits.
AJ Juarez was nails out of the bullpen, going three scoreless and hitless innings.
Ayala got going in the fourth when Marcus Galvan’s two-out, two-run double pulled the Bulldogs to within, 3-2.
Ayala would get two more in the fifth and three seventh-inning runs to pull away.
Daniel Perez got the loss, surrendering four runs on six hits over his 2 2/3 innings.
The Bulldogs’ career hits leader, Cole Koniarsky, continued his torrid pace at the plate.
Koniarsky went 2-for-4, with a home run, scored twice and drove in three runs.
Mateo Matthews walked, singled, doubled, scored and had an RBI.
Luke Solis singled, doubled, drove in a run and scored.
Galvan finished 2-for-4, with the two RBIs.
Jacob Badawi singled and scored and Ty Borgogno and Nathan Aldaz scored once each.
Ryan Moreno walked and singled for the Bulldogs.
Up next: Ayala will host top-seeded JSerra on Tuesday.
The Lions (26-6) defeated Yucaipa, 7-1, on Friday.
Quotable:
Ayala coach, Chris Vogt: “We have played Corona two times this year prior to today, and each time we were down 3-0 and 2-0 early on in those games. The kids stayed the course and eventually the hits started to fall. We did a great job of trusting the approach and not panicking.”
Ayala senior, Cole Koniarsky: When asked why he’s had so much success offensively, Koniarsky said, “I try to stick to my approach at the plate and I have to be patient. I know I’m not going to see a lot of fastballs, so I’ve been sitting back and waiting for offspeed pitches. There wasn’t any sense of panic when we fell behind early, because we trust and believe in one another and know our bats are going to come around. I think Galvan’s two-run hit today really got us going.”
Box Score:
A: 0-0-0-2-2-0-3-(7)
C: 1-2-0-0-0-0-0-(3)
Win: Thomas Cerecedes
Loss: Daniel Perez
HR: Cole Koniarsky (A)
3B: Andrew Walters (C)
2B: Marcus Galvan (A), Mateo Matthews (A), Luke Solis (A)
Records: Ayala (24-2); Corona (21-9)
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