TORRANCE — The coaches for the Oaks Christian and Torrance baseball teams knew that a cat-and-mouse game would be required against the equally dangerous No. 2 hitters in the respective lineups Tuesday.
One situation in the bottom of the third inning, though, presented a tough spot against Tartars’ star first baseman Mateo Rickman that proved to be the difference.
Rickman hit a three-run home run and Torrance got a strong start from pitcher Hector Chavez as part of a 3-2 second-round win in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs at Kendall Field.
Rickman, who entered the contest hitting .427 with 26 RBIs, was pitched to after teammate Vaughn Reinert reached on a push bunt single and Noriyoshi Moro drew a walk with one out against Lions starting pitcher James Latshaw.
“We knew he’s their best hitter,” Oaks Christian coach Rick Hirtensteiner said, “and we didn’t want to pitch to him. But you have first and second and there’s nowhere really to put him, we don’t want to load ’em up.”
Earlier in the at-bat, Rickman narrowly missed a homer that he pulled foul down the left-field line.
After seeing an inside changeup on the pitch, Rickman then looked to the outer half of the plate for his opposite-field blast and the early 3-0 lead.
“All I remembered was that (Latshaw) throws that fastball away,” Rickman said. “I’ve been working on it all week because I knew that’s where he would pitch to us. He left it high and away and I was ready for it. I just killed it, man. I stayed within myself. I was confident, took my deep breath and did a job for my team.”
Torrance coach Rob Ybarra agreed that the previous two batters reaching base limited Oaks Christian’s options.
“Yeah, they challenged him,” Ybarra said. “Mateo’s a helluva player. He’s got back-to-back Daily Breeze player of the year. Right guy, right spot.”
The Tartars (19-11), who will host Fountain Valley (17-13) in the quarterfinals Friday, also got a quality 5 2/3 innings from Chavez before relief pitcher Aiden Anaya recorded the final four outs for the save.
Chavez was able to limit Oaks Christian star shortstop Quentin Young to an intentional walk in a hitless performance.
Young, who came in batting .390 with 14 homers and 34 RBIs, struck out in his first plate appearance before Ybarra decided to put him on base with two outs and a runner on first in a scoreless game in the top half of the third.
“We talked about it until we were blue in the face, this is how we gotta pitch (Young),” Ybarra said of the scouting report relayed to Chavez. “We got in a 3-1 count, or whatever count it was. It was a leverage count for him and I just decided to walk him.”
Chavez then got Latshaw to line out to right field to end the inning.
Hirtensteiner credited Chavez’s ability to pitch to contact against his lineup. He allowed two runs on five hits, walked four and struck out two.
“He was good, he was not overpowering,” Hirtensteiner said. “But he really pitched, mixed his pitches and moved the ball in and out.”
Oaks Christian (20-9) was unable to build a rally after a leadoff single in the fifth. Two batters before Young’s spot in the order, Chavez was the beneficiary of a groundball double play to short.
Young then popped out in foul territory to strand a runner at first and end the threat. Chavez said his two-seam fastball inside was critical to his success against the slugger.
“I just studied (Young’s) videos, did a lot of studying,” Chavez said. “I’m not a big strikeout guy. I make guys roll over, pop up guys. So it’s huge I trust my defense out there.”
Latshaw was chased after just 2 2/3 innings. Reliever Christian Ipsen tossed the remaining 3 1/3 scoreless frames and surrendered just a single and hit a batter.
At the plate, Lions catcher Joshua Brown led the way with a pair of doubles, a walk and two RBIs. His first hit was ruled a ground-rule double after the ball disappeared somewhere in right field, and the umpires called Brown back after he initially rounded the bases and thought he had a home run.
In the sixth, Brown roped a two-run double down the left-field line to pull the Lions within 3-2 and chased Chavez. On the late relay throw home for the second run, Brown tried to move up to third base but was thrown out by Torrance catcher Aiden Bui.
“I just felt relaxed, felt at home at the plate,” Brown said. “Just heartbreak at the end there. I saw the throw out of the left fielder’s hand, and I thought I was safe there. Just unfortunate on the call.”
Anaya closed the door with strikeouts against the first three batters he faced before racing off the mound to make an athletic diving catch on the first-base side to end the game.
Young was left stranded in the on-deck circle.
“Yeah, he looked like a little guy, right?” Ybarra said. “I mean, 6-5, 240, he made a helluva play. I think what he thought is I’m catching this ball because I don’t want to face Quentin.”