Photos by Jeff Serpa

Baseball:

Glendora scored five times in the bottom of the sixth inning to secure a 7-3 victory over their visitors from Kaiser in the CIF State Division 3 Southern California Regional championship game.

One week after earning the program’s third CIF-SS title, the Tartans claimed a first CIF State So Cal Regional banner.

Sebastian Lawrence went the first three innings for GHS and he was charged with three runs on eight hits.

Lawrence walked one and fanned one KHS batter.

He didn’t necessarily have his best stuff, but Lawrence battled his butt off to minimize the damage in a couple of early jams, and he did his part offensively as you’ll read below.

That gets us to another sophomore stud named Preston Tymchak.

And just as he did last Saturday and this past Tuesday, Tymchak entered the contest and steadied the waters.

Tymchak went four scoreless innings to earn the win, and surrendered just one hit.

Tymchak issued one walk and registered three strikeouts.

Twenty-six of his 42 pitches were strikes.

Joey Alexander Chavez had an RBI ground out in the top of the third inning to get Kaiser on the board.

Two batters later, Dom Roybal doubled in a pair of runs to give the Cats a 3-2 lead.

Tino Isaiah Cuellar drew a pair of walks, doubled and scored.

Gabriel Martinez singled and scored.

Alberto Arteaga singled, doubled and scored.

Jaidyn Brooks, Caleb Inzunza and Marcus Cortez had one single apiece.

Eight of the nine Kaiser starters had at least one hit on Saturday.

Zeke Isaak Cortez went the first five innings for KHS, and he surrendered three runs (two earned) on six hits and one hit batter.

Cortez walked five and fanned five GHS batters.

Jacob Mota got the loss after allowing two runs on a pair of hits in 1/3 of an inning.

The Tartans got to Caleb Inzunza for two runs on three hits in 1/3 of an inning as well.

Inzunza didn’t allow a walk and struck out one Tartan.

In the game-deciding sixth inning, Jude Garcia led off with a single.

After a failed bunt attempt, Troy Norman’s one-out single to center put the potential tying and go-ahead runs on first and third.

Riley Cooper followed with a huge two-run triple to plate Garcia and Norman.

Leading 4-3, John Seader dropped a safety squeeze to score Cooper, and the Tartans had a couple of insurance runs.

Tanner Grable singled, and after a strikeout, Sebastian Lawrence’s two-run single gave Tymchak more than enough breathing room to retire the final three batters to secure the championship.

All nine GHS starters had either a base hit, a run scored or an RBI, and eight Tartans had one hit or more.

Cooper finished 1-for-2, was hit by pitch, walked, scored twice and drove in two.

Seader had a pair of hits, scored one run and had a key RBI.

Grable went 2-for-3 with a walk, run and one RBI.

Santiago Garza walked and scored.

Lawrence walked and had the big two-run single to help GHS pull away.

Aidan Yamazaki singled in the five-run sixth inning.

Jude Garcia was hit by pitch and went 2-for-3 with a run and one RBI.

Norman walked, singled and scored.

And Diego Garza singled once on Saturday.

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Lastly, on a personal note: As a member of the 1987 and 1988 teams, I want to thank Coach Ray Bundy on behalf of all GHS baseball players past and present for his 40 years of service to the program, its players and the field we all enjoyed playing on. Ray coached his final game on Saturday, and he’s meant more in our lives and baseball careers than he’ll ever know. He’s been a part of all three CIF-SS championships and the So Cal Regional title. Mr. Bundy, you are appreciated, respected and loved.

Quotable:

GHS coach, Jerry Lewallen: “Preston Tymchak is always going to compete and give everything he has. He is a great teammate and believes in his guys. Offensively, we just keep plugging away. Their guy threw a great game. We had a lot of quality at-bats including Riley Cooper’s two-run triple in the sixth inning to give us the lead. Our senior class has led the way. What a journey. I am so proud of the young men they are. Great things lie ahead for them as they enter this next phase.”

GHS senior, John Seader: “Coming into this year after winning the CIF Championship last season, I knew I was going to have an important role as a senior in the program. One of our main goals was to keep the same family atmosphere that made our team so special, and I think the upperclassmen did a great job of that. This program and this group of guys mean so much to me. Being able to play shortstop and contribute to such a historic season was very satisfying. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end my high school career or a better group of teammates to do it with.”

GHS senior, Aidan Yamazaki: “I think there’s no better way to finish off a high school baseball career than to play as long as you possibly can. I truly believe that this was made possible by the efforts of everyone on the team chipping in when we needed them. Winning the titles is just a reflection of the effort that everyone has put in throughout the season and I’m super glad that we were able to go all the way and finish with the championship for my senior year.  Obviously, Preston’s efforts on the mound were huge in the game and really allowed us to stay in it until we woke our bats up. He has really good stuff when it comes to pitching and I believe he will see tons of success in the future. Also, Riley’s triple was very clutch and allowed us to gain the momentum we needed in a close game, and it allowed us to kind of shut the door on Kaiser. Riley has been hitting very well all season and I think he will see plenty of success in the future as well.”

GHS senior, Tanner Grable: “This year and my high school baseball career in general has been an absolute blessing to me. This team and group of guys are an absolute blast to be around and we all make each other better. I am so proud of everyone and their contributions to the team. I have no doubt that these guys will be back next year in a similar spot next year.”

GHS sophomore, Preston Tymchak: “I think it’s just been kind of a growth over my baseball career. The moments get bigger and bigger and I’ve gotten used to it the more I do it. Knowing my stuff is good enough, I just go out and compete. I felt like my change-up was on. My curve ball wasn’t really landing. Their starter did a good job of keeping us off-balance and our guys were able to break through in the sixth inning. It was an awesome experience for my sophomore season. I love this group of guys and it’s been super fun. A lot of our older guys have been on varsity for a long time, and they set the tone about how hard we work and how to carry ourselves.”

GHS sophomore, Riley Cooper: “This ride has been awesome. It couldn’t have gone any better. We practiced during the day Monday through Friday and then on Saturday’s we came in at 8 am for five months straight and it paid off. We couldn’t ask for more from Preston. He returned from an arm injury, and then he gets put in these big scenarios and does an amazing job. In the bottom of the sixth, I took a deep breath to relax myself, and I was looking for something in my zone to hammer and I got it. I got a curve ball and saw it all the way from the pitcher’s hand and hit it to the left-center gap. In 2027, we could have an amazing season with what we’ve got coming back.”

GHS sophomore, Sebastian Lawrence: “I felt like I pitched well, although I maybe didn’t have my best stuff. It was big to get out of two jams in the first two innings, but I was very happy for Preston, and I was also happy that I was able to give my team two extra runs of run support. Being a part of this historic run has been the time of my life and I couldn’t have done it with a better group of coaches, teammates, parents, and supporters.”

Box Score:
K: 0-0-3-0-0-0-0-(7)
G: 0-1-1-0-0-5-X-(3)

Win: Preston Tymchak
Loss: Jacob Mota

3B: Riley Cooper (G)
2B: Alberto Arteaga (K), Dom Roybal (K), Tino Isaiah Cuellar (K)

Records: Kaiser (21-15); Glendora (23-11)