MISSION HILLS — Bishop Alemany scored eight runs in the first three innings and went on to beat Westlake 9-6 on Tuesday in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 2 baseball playoffs.
The Warriors (19-11) advance to face Mission League rival Loyola in the quarterfinals on Friday.
The pivotal play of the game for the Warriors? It might have happened on defense.
With the bases loaded for Westlake (19-9) in the fifth inning, Alemany pitcher Ricky Gonzalez appeared to throw a wild pitch that could have been costly for the Warriors.
But senior catcher Brody Thompson recovered the ball quickly and tossed it to Gonzalez, who raced over to cover the plate. Gonzalez tagged out the runner, Holden Backus, who was trying to score from third.
That was the final out of the inning and Alemany’s lead remained at 8-3.
Alemany added a run in the top of the sixth for a 9-3 lead. Westlake scored a run in the sixth and two in the seventh to make it 9-6, but that was as close it would get to catching Alemany.
“Both coaches are gonna take a look at this after the game and think that we both left some runs on the board,” Alemany head coach Randy Thompson said. “We got fortunate on the wild pitch there to get the guy at the plate with their leadoff hitter, (Blake) Miller, up, who we couldn’t get out today.”
Miller, a Northern Kentucky commit, finished the game with four hits in five plate appearances. He hit a home run in the second inning.
“Blake Miller on defense and offense, he just was so good all year long,” Westlake head coach Wally Barnett said. “It showed today. That was, all season long, what you saw today.”
Junior Mikey Martinez and junior Maverick Cederlind both had strong days at the plate for the Warriors.
Cederlind hit a home run at the bottom of the third. Martinez had three hits, including a double, and two RBIs.
Martinez got the scoring started for Alemany with a line drive single in the bottom of the first that drove in Thompson.
“It’s important that guys up and down through the lineup contribute,” Thompson said. “We’ve had a couple of guys at the top of the lineup that have done a lot of things for us this year. Maverick’s had some big hits for us. Since (Mikey’s) been back, he’s swung the bat well. We’ve lengthened the lineup, and I’m proud of how our guys fought at the plate.”
The Warriors move on to quarterfinals to face Loyola, which beat Alemany twice in league two weeks ago, 11-4 and 9-3.
Thompson knows it will be a tough matchup, but expects his team to be ready for the battle.
“We don’t have to go scout each other. We played each other,” Thompson said. “We’re familiar with each other. It’s who can come out and execute the best. A lot of respect for Loyola, a lot of respect for (coach) Keith Ramsey. It should be fun in (the) quarterfinals.”