Photos by Jeff Serpa
Baseball:
Covina will play for a CIF-SS Division 6 championship this weekend.
It’s their first trip this deep since 1988.
The Colts earned that honor by defeating their hosts from Lakewood, 6-1, on Tuesday afternoon.
They also ended the career of Lakewood legend Spud O’Neil, who won nearly 1,000 games in his soon-to-be Hall of Fame career.
With the game the game scoreless through the first five innings, Covina scored six times in the top of the sixth.
Isaac Flores did the heavy lifting.
Flores provided 5 2/3 scoreless innings and scattered four hits to earn the win.
Flores issue one walk and registered four strikeouts.
He did hit a pair of Lancers’ batters.
Forty-three of his 72 pitches were strikes.
Donovan Johnson got the final four outs.
Johnson surrendered one run on two hits and a pair of walks.
He got three of his four outs via strikeout.
Lakewood’s lone run of the game came on a Johnson balk in the bottom of the seventh.
Tanner Miramontes had two of LHS’ six hits on Tuesday.
Jayden Pea doubled, while Noah Nunez, Xavier Nunez and Nate Gallegos had one single apiece.
Xavier Nunez went four scoreless for Lakewood and allowed just two hits.
He didn’t issue a walk and struck out one CHS batter.
Rivas Lathan got the loss after surrendering six runs (three earned) on five hits and a hit batter over 1 1/3 innings.
Lathan did register one strikeout.
Lucas Thorpe continued his hot hitting ways, going 4-for-4 with a double, run and his RBI single in the top of the sixth got Covina on the scoreboard.
Aaron Magdaleno had a two-run single and scored.
Donovan Johnson doubled and scored.
Alexander Galaviz singled and scored.
Isaac Flores walked and scored.
Aiden Ayala went 1-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs.
Ethan Echeverria singled.
Aaron Cordova had an RBI ground out and scored.
Up next: The Colts will battle Brentwood this weekend on either Friday or Saturday at Cal State Fullerton or LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga.
The Eagles (19-7-1) cruised to an 8-0 victory over Trinity Classical Academy.
CIF-SS will determine the date and site by tomorrow.
Quotable:
Covina coach, Tim O’Leary: “I am so proud of these guys. They will not die. Isaac went out there and battled like a dawg. He mixed his pitches pretty well, and when he faced any adversity, he bowed his neck and got out of those situations. He gave us a chance to play for a first CIF title in 38 years. Lucas has really turned it up in the postseason with his bat and he had four more hits today. But this run has been a team effort and everyone has done their part.”
Covina pitcher, Isaac Flores: “Today, my fastball and curveball were working best for me. Going later into the game, I would say I was more pumped than nervous, as I knew my guys would come through. All year, my guys have had my back so there was never a doubt in my mind. Every day, these guys come out competing to play for another seven innings. I think we have proven what we can do and absolutely earned ourselves a spot in the finals.”
Covina center fielder, Lucas Thorpe: “Isaac was huge for us on the mound today. He competed the whole game, stayed confident, and gave the team a lot of energy for this big game. I feel like I’m just playing confident right now and trusting my approach at the plate. I’m not trying to do too much and it’s been working out. Our team is playing really good baseball right now. Everyone’s locked in, playing for each other, and bringing great energy going into the championship game.”
Covina shortstop/pitcher, Donovan Johnson: “I really did believe in Isaac to go out there and do his thing, because he has a great defense behind him. Our team confidence is honestly at an all-time high and we are all ready to shock everyone that doubted us. We all trust and believe in one another and are ready for our next game. We have been using the saying, ”fight for another seven innings,” and everyone is dialed in and trusting it, and it really has shown out there.”
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Box Score:
C: 0-0-0-0-0-6-0-(6)
L: 0-0-0-0-0-0-1-(1)
Win: Isaac Flores
Loss: Rivas Lathan
2B: Donovan Jackson (C), Lucas Thorpe (C); Jayden Pea (L)
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Records: Covina (15-13-1); Lakewood (14-18)
Photo by Jeff Serpa Baseball: Editor’s Note: CIF will update the championship game date and location today (Wednesday). You can visit their site, www.cifss.org, and click on the baseball brackets on the top of the page at some point today. All Semifinal Round Scores: D-1: Norco 5, Notre Dame 2 St. John Bosco 3, Harvard-Westlake […]
Photos by Jeff Serpa Baseball: Covina will play for a CIF-SS Division 6 championship this weekend. It’s their first trip this deep since 1988. The Colts earned that honor by defeating their hosts from Lakewood, 6-1, on Tuesday afternoon. They also ended the career of Lakewood legend Spud O’Neil, who won nearly 1,000 games in […]
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