Baseball:

Two of the hottest teams meet up Tuesday at San Marino High School in the semifinal round of the CIF-SS Division 6 playoffs.

Hesperia Christian (10) and San Marino (7) have combined to win 17 consecutive games.

The Titans haven’t lost since April 15th (Warren, 6-1), and it’s been nearly two months since dropping a Rio Hondo League contest (2-1 to La Canada on March 18th).

For those who haven’t heard or read the story, San Marino opened RHL play 0-4, and each of their four losses came by one run.

Fast forward just over a month and San Marino claimed the Rio Hondo League title thanks to eight consecutive wins, and series victories over South Pasadena, Monrovia, La Canada and Temple City.

It’s the ultimate story of perseverance and each member of that roster accepting and succeeding in their individual roles.

As you’ll see below, this is about as even statistically as it gets.

Hesperia Christian has scored 28 more runs than San Marino in seven fewer games.

And the Patriots have a 1.39 team ERA as compared to a 1.71 for the Titans.

Hesperia Christian has playoff wins over Temecula Prep (2-0), Lakeside (6-5) and Norwalk (8-3)

To get to this point, San Marino has defeated Xavier Prep (11-3), Alhambra (7-2) and Campbell Hall (2-1).

Considering the fact that Michael Liquori went the distance and allowed just one run on Friday, it’s Tomas Bilvado’s opportunity to earn the Titans a D-6 title-game appearance this coming weekend.

Bilvado is 7-3, with a 2.32 ERA.

He’s walked 28 batters and struck out 50 in 57 1/3 innings.

In his last appearance, Bilvado went the distance and surrendered two runs on seven hits in San Marino’s 7-2 victory at Alhambra.

He walked one and registered five strikeouts in that performance.

On Friday, Hesperia Christian’s Kyle Day (4 IP, 3R, 1ER) and Cody New (3IP, 0R) combined in an 8-3 victory over Norwalk.

In 2023, New (8-0, 0.15 ERA, 13 walks & 99 strikeouts in 46 IP) and Day (4-0, 1.96 ERA, 16 walks & 47 strikeouts in 25 IP) have yet to lose a game.

The Patriots offense is led by Cody New (.511, 24 hits, 21 runs, 24 RBIs, seven doubles, three triples & four HR’s), Logan Day (.435, 27 hits, 16 runs, 17 RBIs, six doubles & one triple), Luke Skinner (.414, 24 hits, 22 runs, 15 RBIs, four doubles & two triples) and Arlan Koester (.368, 21 hits, 18 runs, 25 RBIs & five doubles).

San Marino’s offense is paced by Coleman Morning (.382, 26 hits, 19 runs, 17 RBIs & three doubles), Truman Koch (.361, 26 hits, 14 runs, 19 RBIs & three doubles)
Ryan Park (.333, 26 hits, 22 runs, 12 RBIs, two doubles & one triple), Tyler Giddings (.320, 24 hits, 25 runs, 15 RBIs, four doubles, one triple & one HR), and Sid Danenhauer (.299, 20 hits, 15 runs, six RBIs & one double).

If the boys in blue can continue their victory tour, the Titans would face the Bloomington-Castaic winner this weekend for the CIF-SS Division 6 championship.

By the Numbers:
Records: HC (17-2); SM (20-6)
Runs Scored: HC (180); SM (152)
Runs Allowed: HC (57); SM (59)
Team ERA: HC (1.39); SM (1.71)
Most Wins: HC (Cody New, 8); SM (Michael Liquori, 8)
Team BA: HC (.361); SM (.283)
Team Hits: HC (193); SM (195)
Most Hits: HC (Logan Day, 27); SM (Truman Koch, Ryan Park & Coleman Morning, 26)
Team Home Runs: HC (9); SM (1)
Most RBIs: HC (Arlan Koester, 25); SM (Truman Koch, 19)
Playoff Runs Scored: HC (16); SM (20)
Playoff Runs Allowed: HC (8); SM (6)
League Finish: HC (Cross Valley champs); SM (Rio Hondo champs)
Hesperia Christian’s Road Record: 9-1
San Marino’s Home Record: 12-4
CIF-SS D-6 Ranking: HC (6); SM (unranked)
MaxPreps State Ranking: HC (268); SM (217)
Current Streak: HC (won 10); SM (won 7)

Hesperia Christian Offensive Leaders:
Cody New (.511, 24 hits, 21 runs, 24 RBIs, seven doubles, three triples & four HR’s)
Logan Day (.435, 27 hits, 16 runs, 17 RBIs, six doubles & one triple)
Luke Skinner (.414, 24 hits, 22 runs, 15 RBIs, four doubles & two triples)
Arlan Koester (.368, 21 hits, 18 runs, 25 RBIs & five doubles)
Jared Bragg (.327, 17 hits, 14 runs, 10 RBIs & three doubles)
Ayden Ortega (.321, 17 hits, 12 runs, 11 RBIs, three doubles & one HR)
Caleb Audet (.302, 19 hits, 29 runs, 13 RBIs, one double & two triples)

Hesperia Christian Pitching Leaders:
Cody New (8-0, 0.15 ERA, 13 walks & 99 strikeouts in 46 IP)
Kyle Day (4-0, 1.96 ERA, 16 walks & 47 strikeouts in 25 IP)
Arlan Koester (1-2, 3.23 ERA, 12 walks & 19 strikeouts in 21 2/3 IP)
Logan Day (2-0, 1.70 ERA, 14 walks & 15 strikeouts in 16 1/3 IP)

San Marino Offensive Leaders:
Coleman Morning (.382, 26 hits, 19 runs, 17 RBIs & three doubles)
Truman Koch (.361, 26 hits, 14 runs, 19 RBIs & three doubles)
Ryan Park (.333, 26 hits, 22 runs, 12 RBIs, two doubles & one triple)
Tyler Giddings (.320, 24 hits, 25 runs, 15 RBIs, four doubles, one triple & one HR)
Sid Danenhauer (.299, 20 hits, 15 runs, six RBIs & one double)
JJ Wilson (.267, 20 hits, 13 runs, seven RBIs & one double)
Kyle Ly (.258, 17 hits, 13 runs, 13 RBIs, two doubles & one triple)

San Marino Pitching Leaders:
Michael Liquori (8-1, 1.46 ERA, 17 walks & 51 strikeouts in 72 IP)
Tomas Bilvado (7-3, 2.32 ERA, 28 walks & 50 strikeouts in 57 1/3 IP)
Tyler Giddings (0-1, 0-82 ERA, eight walks & 16 strikeouts in 17 IP)
Coleman Morning (2-1, 3.36 ERA, four walks & nine strikeouts in 8 1/3 IP)

Playoff Results:
5/5:
Hesperia Christian 2, Temecula Prep 0
San Marino 11, Xavier Prep 3

5/9:
Hesperia Christian 6, Lakeside 5
San Marino 7, Alhambra 2

5/12:
Hesperia Christian 8, Norwalk 3
San Marino 2, Campbell Hall 1

5/16: Hesperia Christian at San Marino

CIF-SS Division 6 Schedule:
Bloomington at Castaic
Hesperia Christian at San Marino