Photos by Josh Thompson of Champion Newspapers & Tara Masucci
Baseball:
What do you do in the semifinal round of the CIF State Division 1 playoffs when your No. 2 starter is out of state?
You throw a couple of freshman and beat Bishop Amat, 13-3, in a five-inning, mercy-rule victory.
Jeremy Byers went the first 2 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits.
Byers walked two and fanned a pair of Lancers’ batters.
When Bryan Yang came on in the top of the third, Bishop Amat had the bases loaded with two outs and trailed, 4-2.
Yang did a back-pick and got the third out without having to throw a pitch.
Yang would go the final 2 1/3 innings, and surrendered one run on two hits.
He walked one and struck out one Lancers’ batter.
Jose Marquez had half of Amat’s six base hits, including two doubles, two RBI’s and he scored once.
Tyler White walked, singled and scored a pair of runs.
Diego Franco had an RBI base hit in the loss.
Izeah Muniz got the loss after allowing six runs on eight hits over his 2 2/3 innings.
He walked two and struck out a pair of Bulldogs’ batters.
Ayala would get three runs off Alejandro Morales on one hit and three walks, and four more from Sean Suriyaniel.
Mateo Matthews hit a solo shot in the third inning and his two-run blast in the fifth ended Amat’s season.
Matthews finished 2-for-2, with a walk, scored three runs and drove in three.
Jacob Badawi singled, doubled, scored twice and had an RBI.
Ty Borgogno singled twice and scored.
Cole Koniarsky had an RBI double and scored.
Troy McCain walked, doubled and scored three runs.
Luke Solis walked, singled, scored and drove in two runs.
Ryan Moreno walked, doubled and had three RBIs.
Damien Delgadillo went 2-for-3, with an RBI and run scored.
Up next: Ayala will get a second shot at JSerra in Saturday’s CIF State Division 1 championship game.
The Lions (29-7) defeated Orange Lutheran, 4-2, in their semifinal-round game.
First pitch is set for noon.
Quotable:
Ayala coach, Chris Vogt: “This win was a big win for our team and the program. Bishop Amat is an area power and any time you can beat a team of that caliber, especially in a playoff setting, it is a good thing. JSerra is a really talented team, one of the best in the country. We have a lot of respect for that program and are looking forward to competing with them again.”
Ayala senior, Mateo Matthews: “Losing in the CIF semifinals to JSerra was tough on us. But when we found out we had made the state playoffs, we all got prepared physically and mentally and we’re so happy to get a second shot at them this Saturday. I am so proud of Jeremy Byers and Bryan Yang, because they were put in a tough situation today and they gave us more than we could have asked of a couple of freshman. It really means a lot to me as one of the seniors to get one more game with my guys, because this is the closest and most unified team I’ve ever been on during my baseball career. It felt really good to contribute, but we also had so many other guys do their part as well.”
Box Score:
BA: 1-0-1-0-1-(3)
A: 4-0-2-3-4-(13)
Win: Jeremy Byers
Loss: Izeah Muniz
HR: Mateo Matthews (A) 2
2B: Troy McCain (A), Ryan Moreno (A), Jacob Badawi (A), Cole Koniarskyy (A), Jose Marquez (BA) 2.
Records: Bishop Amat (21-9); Ayala (26-3)
To view a photo gallery of Ayala’s victory, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
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