Esperanza Pulls A Fast One On Wilson In CIF Semifinals

Back in 2007, the last time Long Beach Wilson and Esperanza met in the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 Baseball Playoffs, the Bruins beat the Aztecs and went all the way, winning the CIF championship.

History did not repeat itself Tuesday, as Esperanza’s speed on the basepaths contributed to two critical errors that were the big difference in a 6-2 win over Wilson (26-7) at Blair Field.

The Aztecs will shoot for their fourth CIF title in team history, playing at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Dodger Stadium against J.W. North of Riverside, a 10-4 winner Tuesday at Blair Field over Moore League champion Lakewood. This will be Esperanza’s 10th championship game appearance in the 30-year storied history of head coach Mike Curran.

In classic Esperanza fashion, the Aztecs ran aggressively when other teams may not have, and it worked in helping force the two errors.

“I don’t know that it was rushed throws,” Wilson head coach Andy Hall said. “When you have fast runners, you have to throw the ball quick. Esperanza’s got a lot of good team speed, and they utilize it real well.”

The play of the game came with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, and the Moore League runner-up Bruins trying to hold onto a 2-1 lead. With runners on second and third, Esperanza nine-hole hitter Mitch Mossman hit a chopper right to Wilson second baseman Daniel DeWolf. The senior’s throw would have likely nailed Aztec pinch runner Matt Ripley at the plate, but it one-hopped past catcher Jake Hardy.

With the expansive area behind home plate, where Long Beach State plays its home games, a backup throw was not made to even get the runner coming in from second, Ryan Aguilar, and Esperanza (23-10) took a 3-2 lead it never gave up.

“I rushed that throw a little bit,” DeWolf said. “I tried to get my throw off as quick as I could. They have some pretty fast guys, so I was trying to get it to the catcher as fast as I could.”

The Aztecs put some insurance runs on the scoreboard, for good measure, as they chased starter Bobby Webb (5-2), whose throw in the dirt allowed Mossman to advance to third. Nick Catalano picked up where Mossman left off and he drew a walk, then Ryan Cooper hit a single to the left of DeWolf for an RBI single and a 4-2 lead. Senior Brandon Morones, Esperanza’s No. 3 hitter and catcher, knocked in another run on a hit-and-run double for a 5-2 lead.

“We have some rabbits out there,” said Esperanza hitting and catching coach Al Verdun, who coached Curran 42 years ago at Rio Hondo College. “Our coach is very aggressive, he likes to play small ball.”

Esperanza scored its last run against reliever Ty Provencher in the sixth, as Cooper tripled and then scored on a passed ball.

“I wasn’t spotting my curve as I usually do,” Webb said. “It was a rough outing. (Our defense) tried their best. I’m sure they would want those plays back, but errors happen.”

Bruins right fielder Chase De Jong caught a fly ball hit by Mitch Christensen off Provencher, and nailed Cooper out at home, giving Wilson a better shot at tying or perhaps reclaiming the lead.

But the bats stayed relatively silent. Brett Harper hit a two-out single in the top of the fifth off winning pitcher Scott Mason, but Webb flew out to center.

Mason left after five innings and he allowed four hits and struck out five.

DeWolf led the sixth off with a single against Esperanza’s ace, Austin Pettibone. With two outs, DeJong walked to put runners on first and second. Timmy Richards, who at one point was hitting .568 late in the season, hit a slow dribbler to Mossman at second. Mossman charged the ball and made a flying, off-balance sidearm flip to first to first baseman Brad Anderson, whose stretch extinguished the flames Wilson was starting to fan.

In the seventh, Pettibone – the likely starter Friday in Dodger Stadium - mowed through Wilson’s 7-9 hitters, setting them down in order.

“The secret to winning in the playoffs is you have to beat someone’s No. 2 (starting pitcher), eventually,” Hall said. “He did a great job keeping us off-balance. I think once we started to get to him, they made their pitching change when they could and (Pettibone) got the last six outs, which is good baseball.”

Wilson, who could have played Lakewood in what would’ve been the first time two Moore League teams played for the CIF title since 1976, scored its runs in the top of the top of the fourth.

DeWolf walked with one out, then University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff commit Soloman Williams smacked a ground-rule double to deep center, a ball that would have likely been a home run in a typical high school yard.

Stephan Miladinovich followed with a first-pitch rip of a two-RBI double to left field, another likely home run on a normal field. But Mason knuckled down, striking out DeJong and Richards in order to end any more threats.

Esperanza scored its first run using their usual aggressive base running. With two outs and runners on first and third, Hardy tried to throw out Christensen at second. Wilson shortstop Richards grabbed the throw and immediately returned it back to Hardy, and appeared to have Morones dead to rights at home. But Hardy could not hold onto the ball, and it was 1-0 Aztecs.

“The telltale sign was the three errors we made early on to extend innings and allowed runs for them to score,” Hall said. “Take the errors away and it’s a little bit different story.”

Long Beach Wilson overcame some adversity this season, with five players not being able to finish the season. Center fielder and pitcher Sean Buckle, a Loyola Maramount commit, was lost for the season with a neck injury he suffered while playing Frisbee on the beach April 16. At the time, Buckle was hitting .424 with 12 runs batted in from the team’s No. 2 spot in the batting order. He also boasted a 0.50 ERA in 15 innings pitched. Buckle was with the team Tuesday night.

“Our year was one in which we dealt with some adversity,” Hall said. “We had guys that were able to step in and compete.”