DOWNEY — The Warren baseball team went from the brink of a remarkable comeback to a painful defeat, as its seventh-inning rally quickly fizzled and the Bears lost to St. Francis 3-1 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs.
The way the game ended left the Warren faithful a bit stunned.
The Bears began the seventh inning trailing by three runs, but with the bases loaded, St. Francis pitcher Donovan Udell gave up a walk that resulted in a run.
The next batter, Warren catcher Ivan Perez, sent a shallow flyball into the outfield that the Golden Knights caught for the first out of the inning.
Then everything crumbled for Warren.
Sophomore Max Ruiz popped up in the infield for the second out. Warren right fielder Jose Eljiak, who was on third base, headed towards home plate. St. Francis third baseman Aiden Rooney caught the popup and immediately threw the ball to a teammate, who tagged out Eljiak, ending the game.
“It was a mistake and things are going to happen to the best,” said Warren head coach Cesar Martinez, who praised Eljiak, a senior, for his leadership all season. “We wouldn’t be here without him. He won (most valuable player) in the team and he’s the heart and soul.”
St. Francis starting pitcher Casey Sullivan struck out eight batters.
“It was pretty rough, but we got out of it and that’s what matters,” Sullivan said.
“Everyone was so supportive. I know no matter what, they’re going to have my back.”
Warren loaded the bases twice, in the sixth and seventh innings, but Sullivan and reliever Donovan Udell allowed just one run to come in.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to have to (play),” Udell said. “I thought Casey was going to finish. But I just went in there trusted and pitched my spots and let the boys do the rest.”
“For (Warren) to have bases loaded, nobody out in the sixth and seventh inning and to give up just one run, that just shows the resilience of Casey Sullivan and Donovan Udell,” St. Francis head coach Shaun Kort said.
Warren pitcher Adrian Cisneros struck out seven batters before being pulled with the score 3-0.
Reliever Alejandro Haro had three consecutive strikeouts in the top of the seventh to give Warren a chance to win in its final at-bat.
“The fight that these kids have, it’s unbelievable,” Martinez said. “We’re playing baseball, things can go not so much in your direction. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.
“We gave ourselves a chance. But at the end of the day, we gave up three runs, and we left a ton of baserunners on base. We just didn’t capitalize on those opportunities.”