Baseball:
Imagine your father is the coach of a CIF-SS Division 1 baseball program.
And then think about what’s being said each time you throw a ball away or don’t come through at the plate.
That’s exactly what San Dimas senior Rocco Regan was facing early on Tuesday evening.
Cypress took a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh at SDHS in the second round of the D-1 playoffs.
Regan made a crucial throwing error not long before coming to the plate in the bottom of the seventh.
The Saints had a rally going and they trailed 6-5 with runners on second and third.
After falling behind in the count to Ryan Castro, Cypress elected to give him a free pass to load the bases.
And here came Rocco Regan.
Regan fell behind 0-and-2 after fouling the first pitch straight back, and the second went down the left-field line.
With his high school career on the line, Regan singled up the middle.
The ball went off an infielder’s glove and found its way into the outfield, and it allowed Landon White and Kody King to score for a thrilling 7-6 walk-off victory.
Tate Belfanti got the loss after allowing four runs on three hits over two innings.
Belfanti issued one walk and struck out three SDHS batters.
Regan finished 2-for-4 with the two RBIs.
Jude Favela hit a solo HR.
Kasen Khansarinia walked, scored and had an RBI single in the four-run seventh inning.
King had a huge RBI double to pull the Saints to within 6-5 of the Centurions.
King finished 2-for-4.
John Nauertz got the seventh-inning rally started with an RBI double and he scored one run.
Vaughn Coleman walked and singled.
Landon White drew a pair of walks, including once with the bases loaded, and he scored one run.
King went five innings, and he allowed three runs on four hits.
King walked one and fanned three Cypress batters.
Castro and Khansarinia provided one inning of relief apiece for the Saints.
Castro was charged with two runs (one earned) on three hits.
He walked one and struck out one.
Khansarinia allowed an unearned run on one hit and a walk.
He fanned one CHS batter.
Justin Tillar singled and hit a two-run HR.
Antonio Lujan had an RBI single and a solo HR.
Noah Johnson walked, singled, doubled and scored.
Nick Montgomery drew a pair of walks and scored twice.
Quotable:
San Dimas senior, Rocco Regan: “I felt a good amount of pressure (as he headed to the plate). I tried to slow things down and went pitch by pitch. Making some mistakes that hurt our team weighed on me, but I had to move on from that. Usually when we’re losing in the seventh inning, someone will say something. But we all just stood up and we were locked in as a team. I couldn’t have done this without all of my teammates, and each of them did something to help us get to this point in the season. We came through in the end, because our guys were relentless. It felt great to see the ball make its way into the outfield. It was surreal. We know Harvard Westlake is a great program, but my message to the team is to leave it all out on the field and execute.”
Up next: The Saints travel to Studio City on Friday to battle the No. 8 program in the nation (MaxPreps), Harvard Westlake, at 3:15.
The Wolverines edged Bonita, 3-2, on Tuesday.
Box Score:
C: 0-0-0-0-3-1-2-(6)
SD: 0-0-0-0-3-0-4-(7)
Win: Kasen Khansarinia
Loss: Tate Belfanti
HR: Antonio Lujan (C), Justin Tillar (C); Jude Favela (SD)
2B: Noah Johnson (C); Kody King (SD); John Nauertz (SD)
Records: Cypress (19-10-1); San Dimas (25-4)
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