Baseball:
If you weren’t paying attention, Ayala entered the playoffs having won six in a row, and the Bulldogs are playing their best baseball of the season.
And that hot streak carried over into Thursday’s first round of the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs.
The Bulldogs scored four runs in the top of the third inning, and Caleb Trugman and Isaac Huver would do the rest in a 6-1 victory at La Serna.
Trugman went six innings, and he allowed an unearned run on two hits.
He issued just one walk and struck out nine batters.
Huver went a perfect seventh inning in relief to close the door, including one strikeout.
Gilbert Rendon had an RBI ground out.
Owen Long and Eddie Garcia had one single apiece to account for the La Serna offense.
Joshua Rodriguez got the loss.
Rodriguez went six innings, and he was charged with six runs (one earned) on four hits.
Trugman helped his own cause, going 2-for-4, including a two-run double in the top of the fourth to give Ayala a 6-1 lead.
Jaden Valenzuela singled and drove in a run on a sac fly.
Dylan Wood singled twice and drove in a pair of runs.
Aiden Granados singled and scored twice.
Elijah Duarte singled and scored.
Aidan Erlandsen was hit by pitch and scored a pair of runs for the Bulldogs.
Codey Brown singled and drove in a run on a sac fly in the top of the third inning.
Up next: Ayala will host Maranatha on Tuesday.
The Minutemen (22-6) defeated Royal, 4-0, behind Zach Strickland’s no-hitter and 17 strikeouts.
Quotable:
Ayala pitcher, Caleb Trugman: “We came out as a team and did what we do. Everybody had each other’s back and we played as a family. I felt a little nervous going into the game as I knew this could be the last game of the season, but once I got on that mound, I knew I had the game in my hands and we were going to walk away with a win. Every pitch worked well for me today, and my defense made some plays behind me, and the offense stepped up huge to give me some comfort out there.”
Box Score:
AHS: 0-0-4-2-0-0-0-(6)
LS: 0-0-1-0-0-0-0-(1)
Win: Caleb Trugman
Loss: Joshua Rodriguez
2B: Caleb Trugman (A)
Records: Ayala (13-11-1); La Serna (16-10)
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