One of the things that baseball coaches fear most is a hot team, and at playoff time in a single-elimination tournament, there's reason to fear the heat.
But on Friday, the hot team faced the better team, and when its right fielder made a diving catch of J.J. Carr's fly ball, Studio City Harvard-Westlake had scored a 5-0 quarterfinal victory over Santa Margarita Catholic in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
Though SMCHS (19-12) had come in on a roll despite its third-place finish in the Trinity League, Harvard-Westlake had been stellar all season. The Wolverines were ranked No. 3 in the nation by Maxpreps, and undefeated pitcher Jack Flaherty gave them even more bite.
Flaherty (12-0) pitched a three-hitter and didn't allow a runner to reach second base as Harvard-Westlake (26-4)—in its first season in section's marquee division—won on the road and will next play Los Alamitos in the semifinals.
Los Alamitos defeated second-seeded El Toro, 4-1.
Since consecutive one-run losses to Mater Dei—ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time—Santa Margarita had won eight of nine, and the lone loss was 1-0 to Servite.
But Flaherty and his slider were too much. His earned-run average hovers near 1.00, so Santa Margarita knew it wouldn't have much margin for error. Flaherty got one run after he walked and eventually scored on the first of Brian Ginsberg's two runs batted in in the top of the first inning. The two runs Harvard-Westlake scored in the third on three singles and a balk by Dillon Miyashiro were too much to overcome.
A couple of errors in the fifth inning led to two more runs against Miyashiro (6-2), who left at the end of the inning.
Although Harvard-Westlake came in highly ranked, Santa Margarita was no slouch in that department; the Eagles were No. 8 in the state and No. 28 nationally.
Los Alamitos 4, El Toro 1—Jacob Nix pitched a four-hitter and struck out 10, and he didn't allow a run until the seventh inning as the Griffins KO'd a second-seeded Chargers team ranked No. 16 in the nation.
Los Alamitos (18-10) finished third in the Sunset League.
Christian Colburn had two runs batted in for Los Alamitos, which will play Harvard-Westlake in the semifinals as part of a doubleheader at Blair Field in Long Beach.
Nix, who also allowed a walk, outdueled Chasen Ford, who left after three innings and trailing by two runs.
Frank Padulo also had an RBI, and Darren McCaughen scored twice.
El Toro's only run came in the top of the seventh inning on a home run by Gavin Collins, who had two of the Chargers' four hits.
In Division 2
Temecula Valley 9, Aliso Niguel 0—Kyle Molnar (8-3) was tagged for seven runs in three innings as Aliso Niguel (21-12) fell at home to the second-ranked Golden Bears (22-5). Through three playoff games, Temecula Valley has outscored its opponents 28-2, and shutting out Aliso was a bit of a feat; the Wolverines had been held scoreless only once previously, a 1-0 loss to Dana Hills.
Drew Seelman had three RBIs for Temecula and Brandon Koch (8-3) scattered six hits and struck out two. It will play Los Osos in the semifinal.
In Division 6
Capistrano Valley Christian 18, Frazier Mountain 0—Despite the lengthy road trip, third-seeded Capo Valley had a pleasant trip home after its easy victory. The Eagles will face Downey Calvary Chapel on Tuesday.
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