FULLERTON — Agoura’s baseball team was leading Mira Costa after the first five innings of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 championship game Saturday at Cal State Fullerton’s Goodwin Field.
Senior pitcher Donovan Anthony was working off his curveball to better command his fastball, and with a five-run lead, Agoura seemed on its way to winning the title.
All of that changed though when Mira Costa put together a sixth-inning rally.
Catcher Kellan Finn sliced a triple into right field with the bases loaded and designated hitter Nick Feidler slammed a go-ahead home run over the wall in left field wall to cap an improbable rally that led to a Mira Costa victory, 9-7.
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Agoura’s ace Anthony threw 4 2/3 innings, but Mira Costa collected competitive at-bats, fouled off his curveball and ultimately capsized the Chargers’ effort to win the title.
“(Anthony) is our guy and we’ll ride him until his arm falls off,” first-year Agoura coach Adam Goldstein said. “Unfortunately a little bit unlucky. A couple of plays here that go our way and we walk out of there 6-1. He’s our guy and I’ll ride him in any game 7 he’s on our team.”
Agoura (19-14) didn’t bring home the championship trophy but carried a culture that was vibrant and active. Relief pitchers developed a signature rebel yell they chanted after sprinting into the bullpen following the playing of the national anthem.
Goldstein brought his own flavor of coaching that preached playing loose but being accountable.
The result was Agoura putting together its first winning record since 2022 after finishing 12-16 last season and three straight .500 records while Anthony Chevrier led the program.
Agoura finished 5-10 in the Marmonte League but went on a playoff winning streak that included wins over Oakwood of North Hollywood 4-0 on May 15, 3-0 over Pacifica of Garden Grove on May 19, 4-1 against Fullerton on May 22 and defeating Millikan 3-1 in the semifinals on Tuesday, May 26.
“Adam came in and just changed the entire aspect of baseball for me and my team,” Anthony said. “I would never expect to be here at the beginning of the season. Our team is filled with hard-working players and we deserved to be here.”
Anthony battled through an oblique strain and missed a month between early April and early May.
Agoura’s offense was engineered by shortstop Braden Oliver, who finished Saturday’s game 2 for 2 including a two-run double in the third that stretched Agoura’s lead to 6-1.
Oliver, who is committed to UC Irvine, batted .312 with seven home runs, 27 RBIs, eight doubles and 12 stolen bases.
“He keeps his heart rate down, he’s not scared of the moment and he wants the moment,” Goldstein said. “He’s a 6-foot-4 and 205-pound shortstop, he’s got all five tools and he’s just scratching the surface. The upside is massive for him and he’s not scared of the moment.”
Next season Agoura will return 18 players from its varsity roster, highlighted by outfielder Jordan Tagawa (.305 batting average, one double, 12 RBI), junior infielder Colton Mellinger (.247 batting average, two home runs, one triple, two doubles, 19 RBI) and infielder Christian Maher (.276 batting average, five doubles, 25 RBI).
Goldstein has also promoted the youth outreach of his team and put together clinics taught by current players to assist Agoura Pony Baseball, the school’s feeder program.
“We want to get them excited about being part of our community,” Goldstein said. “That in turn got our community around these kids, and I thought we especially did a good job considering we had three home playoff games. Our last home game we had around 600 people. I thought (Agoura Pony Baseball) did a good job of supporting these boys and that’s what we are trying to do.”