Fallbrook wins first baseball title in its 100-year history with Div. 3 win over Maranatha Christian

Fallbrook has had some great baseball teams and great players over the years, including major leaguers Mike Leake and Donny Lucy.

But never in the school’s 100-year history have the Warriors won a CIF San Diego Section championship.

Until Saturday night.

Locked in a pitcher’s duel before a standing-room-only crowd of more than 1,200 at UC San Diego’s Triton Field, No. 2-seeded Fallbrook (22-9-1) broke a 1-1 tie with top-seeded Maranatha Christian, pushing across a run in the sixth for a 2-1 victory and the championship that was a century in the making.

Anthony Thomas doubled to start the inning and held at second on Austen Baker’s groundout. Thomas went to third on a passed ball and scored on Jace Cervantes’ squeeze bunt.

Junior Tyler Allegro started for Fallbrook and went five innings, allowing four hits, a run, walking one, striking out eight.

Tanyon Smith worked the last two innings, setting down all six batters he faced, striking out four.

Fallbrook pitchers retired the last 12 Maranatha Christian batters.

In all, 12 batters struck out for No. 1-seeded Maranatha Christian (24-8).

Hard-throwing Joey Witting, who is committed to Air Force, worked all seven innings for Maranatha Christian. He allowed five hits, two runs — one earned, walked two and fanned 12. On the season, Wittig finished with 94 strikeouts in 64 innings.

Fallbrook broke through first with Will Sherman, who had a one-out single, scoring on Smith’s two-out single in the third.

Maranatha Christian answered in the fourth when Levi Ham was hit by a pitch, Lucas Dawson and Jake Dagan singled to load the bases and Ham scored on Zeke Smith’s groundout.

Fallbrook advances to the Southern California Regionals with the pairings announced this afternoon.

Division 4

Calexico 12, Bishop’s 4: Bishop’s committed seven errors and Calexico took full advantage.

The No. 3-seeded Bulldogs (17-11) scored two runs in the second without aid of an error on an RBI single by Jose Ortega and fielder’s choice RBI by Leo Veliz. After the second, however, No. 1 Bishop’s (15-15) kept handing Calexico gifts.

Three Knights errors led to three Calexico runs in the third with only Manuel Cano driving in a run.

Veliz reached first on an error to start the Calexico fourth and scored on Tony Lopez’s groundout.

After a clean fifth, Bishop’s imploded in the sixth, with three more errors leading to six runs. Calexico had four hits in the inning, including Veliz’s double to center, drew two walks and had two batters hit by a pitch.

Calexico freshman pitcher Jose Ortega was superb after allowing a two-run single to Clyde Kates in the first inning. He retired 13 straight Bishop’s hitters from the first through the fifth before Bishop’s pushed across an unearned run in the sixth.

Ortega went 61/3 innings before he hit the 100-pitch limit, allowing two earned runs. He struck out six and walked one.

Nick Navarro got the final two outs for the Bulldogs.

Calexico rolled through the playoffs with victories over Central Union and Monte Vista before losing to Imperial, then beating Imperial 10-3 in an elimination game.

The Bulldogs advance to the Southern California Regionals with pairings announced this afternoon.

Bishop’s had lost nine games in a row before the start of the playoffs, then outscored Valley Center, Holtville and El Capitan 17-1 with shutouts of Valley Center and El Capitan.

Bishop’s was playing without head coach BK Santy, who had a good excuse: He was getting married.

Division 5

Lincoln 7, St. Joseph 4: Long known as a football-basketball school, Lincoln now has a CIF San Diego Section baseball championship to add to its collection of banners.

The No. 3-seeded Hornets broke open a close game on DH Julio Ojeda’s fifth-inning grand slam and beat No. 4-seeded St. Joseph Academy at UC San Diego’s Triton Ballpark to capture the Division 5 championship — the first baseball title in school history.

With baseball winning, the Hornets completed a big-three trifecta in boys sports, capturing CIF titles in football, basketball and now baseball.

“We lost to Palo Verde Valley in the championship game last season so we had some unfinished business,” said Lincoln coach Jesse De La Torre. “We kept the runner-up patch from last season and used it as motivation.

“We’re all proud of what Lincoln has accomplished in football (including a state championship this season), and basketball, but the other sports are starting to emerge.”

“The lacrosse and soccer teams won a league championship. Badminton did very well. So there is a lot to be proud of at Lincoln.”

The Hornets improved to 22-9 with the victory and advance to the Southern California Regionals with pairings to be announced today.

The big blow for Lincoln was Ojeda’s grand slam.

With Lincoln leading 3-2, Sebastian Sosa drew a one-out walk to get a rally started in the fifth. Damian Moreno and John Savalza were hit by pitches, setting the stage for Ojeda, a left-handed-hitting sophomore.

Looking for a fastball, he got one and drove it over the right-field wall, his first home run of the season.

“I figured he had to throw me a fastball, and it was right in my swing path,” Ojeda said. “I knew I had to drive in some runs, so I was looking to hit a line drive somewhere, anything to help the team. It was an amazing feeling.

“We knew what football and basketball had done, so we wanted to add to that.”

Lincoln scored first when Sebastian Sosa singled in Jesus Padilla, who singled and stole second.

St. Joseph Academy (11-8), making its first championship-game appearance, took the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth inning with Andrew Wadds driving in a run with a single and a second scoring on a balk.

Lincoln wrested the lead back with two runs in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles by Giovanni Alvarez and Richard Leon.

St. Joseph Academy scored two in the top of the seventh to make it interesting with Joseph Romero tripling home Sam Romero, who had walked, and James Surritt, who had singled.

But Lincoln’s Alador Herrera got a groundout to second to end the game.

“My plan was to throw strikes, let them put balls in play and trust my defense,” Herrera said. “I’m nothing without my defense.”

Lincoln picked off three St. Joseph Academy runners — two at first, one at second.

“This is a great bunch of guys,” Herrera said. “We play together. Pick each other up.”

Asked about the big-three trifecta, Herrera said, “Yes, that gave us a lot of motivation.

“We didn’t want to get to the championship game and let it get away.

“Next year, let’s win Division 4.”

De La Torre said the Hornets have been hunting the championship since last year’s loss to Palo Verde Valley.

“We started working toward this almost immediately,” De La Torre said. “We played American Legion ball last summer, and it was a huge help. Our kids can’t afford travel ball, but the American Legion allowed us to play as a team with no charge to the kids.

“We struggled some, but it was because we were facing better competition. So we improved by playing up a level or two. And we haven’t stopped working.

“I’m so proud the kids can see that hard work and dedication pays off.”