When Mira Costa baseball coach Cassidy Olson was making his pitch for his team to play in the prestigious Boras Classic tournament, he vowed the Mustangs would be competitive.
Many other coaches were skeptical as Mira Costa was the only Division 3 team playing in the 32-team tournament that features elite high school baseball teams throughout the state.
Despite lacking the highly-recruited pro and Division 1 college prospects that are on the rosters of other teams, Mira Costa not only turned in a respectable performance but captured the Southern Division with a stunning 2-1 upset over JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) Friday evening at Mater Dei High School.
“It was definitely the biggest win in the history of our program,” Olson said. “We thought one win would be a good showing for us. The tournament is scout-friendly and not many people were thrilled with us winning. It just goes to show what a team effort can do.”
Mira Costa senior Roland Houseman allowed just one run on four hits with five strikeouts through six innings. Mustang ace Trevor Franklin closed the game with three consecutive outs in the seventh inning.
Matt Beserra gave Mira Costa an early lead with a solo home run in the second inning. The Mustangs scored the eventual winning run on a Zach Chan RBI single in the top of the fifth inning before JSerra closed the gap with one run in the bottom of the frame. Andrew Arteaga went 2 for 2 for the Mustangs.
“We had a chip on our shoulder and wanted to prove that we belonged in the tournament,” Franklin said. “We have close-knit team with a great group of guys. It was exciting to see how all our hard work has paid off.”
JSerra, ranked No. 6 in the nation in the Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard, entered the season as the nation’s top-ranked team.
Mira Costa (11-1) advances to take on Northern Division winner Davis (No. 1 in the state) on May 7 at Evans Diamond on the campus of UC Berkeley.
“I can’t remember Mira Costa being ranked so high nationally,” Olson said. “This will be the closest to a state championship we can get.”
Because of graduations, senior proms and other activities in June, there is no state championship for baseball like there are for sports in the fall and winter seasons. Baseball teams conclude their seasons with the CIF Division title games.
Mira Costa opened the Boras Classic defeating Damien (La Verne) 1-0, then beating Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 11-3 and J.W. North (Riverside) to reach the championship game. The Southern Division included six top-ten teams in CIF-Southern Section Division 1 along with the top-ranked team in the L.A. City Section.
The wins moved Mira Costa up to No. 3 in the state and No. 15 in the nation. But the Mustangs were fortunate to escape with their 1-0 opening-game victory.
With Franklin tossing a five-hit shutout, Damien’s Isaiah Page hit a two-run home run with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. However, Mira Costa catcher Brett Davis and Olson noticed the first runner failed to touch home plate.
The appeal was upheld and the game over.
“The baseball gods were with us,” Olson said. “It was a crazy way to end a game but, over the years we have had our share of being on the other side of a call.”
Mira Costa begins Bay League action with an away-and-home series with Palos Verdes on Wednesday and Friday, Apr. 15.
“Winning the tournament is probably the best way to enter league,” Olson said. “Our players are hungry and not overlooking anyone.”
Mira Costa’s performance at the Boras Classic also moved the Mustang up one spot to No. 2 in CIF-SS Division 3, just behind rival Redondo.
Redondo entered the week with a 14-0 record after a 7-3 win at Newport Harbor last Friday and a 5-3 victory at Bishop Montgomery on Monday. The Sea Hawks are ranked No. 8 in the state in the MaxPreps poll.
The defending CIF Division 3 champion Sea Hawks have not skipped a beat despite losing the arm and bat of Cooper Gallion, who has been advised to sit out the season because of concussion-related symptoms.
“Our guys knew his loss was potentially coming and they had mentally prepared for that,” Redondo coach Jeff Baumback said. “ We still have seven players from last years team and six are seniors, Danny Zimmerman being the only non senior and he played varsity as a freshman. This team is very talented and determined to do special things this season.”
Zimmerman spearheads the Sea Hawk’s offense leading the team in batting average (.475), RBI (20), home runs (6) and runs scored (20).
Baumback credits Redondo’s success to the performances of catcher Marco Valenzuela. shortstop/pitcher Jason Dicochea, third baseman Jacob Springman, Zimmerman who pitches and plays first base, pitcher/outfielder Sean Reynolds and pitcher Connor Riley.
Valenzuela is batting .356 with 19 RBI and three home runs, Dicochea (.353, six doubles) and Reynolds (.348, 10 RBI, four home runs, five doubles) have added pop throughout the lineup.
Valenzuela is the latest Sea Hawk to commit to a Division 1 college accepting a scholarship to Nevada-Reno. He joins fellow seniors Reynolds (Rice), Riley (Long Beach State), Dicochea (Santa Clara) and the junior Zimmerman (Michigan) as future Division 1 baseball players.
“I’d say Sean (Reynolds) and Sean (Riley) have been particularly important because they threw less than 10 innings last year and this year they been our top two starters,” Baumback added “Zimmerman was our ace last year and he is still working toward becoming that guy again. It always takes him some time coming from football to baseball, especially the pitching aspect. Dicochea has been great as our closer. He was our No. 2 starter for a good part of last year and now that he is playing shortstop, we have decided to use him to finish games.”
Reynolds (5-0) has a 1.17 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched. He leads a pitching staff that has a combined 1.46 ERA.
Riley (4-0) threw his second no-hitter of the season in a 9-0 home victory against North Torrance on March 29 at Redondo. The Long Beach State-bound senior had 11 strikeouts with two walks in the win and has a 2.03 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 31 innings this season.
Baumback said this is a different team and his players have put last season’s title run behind them.
“We are trying to compete to win every game and trying to stay in the moment,” Baumback said. “We still have several areas we can improve in. I am very proud of this team and the experienced upperclassmen that achieved a lot last year and remain hungry. They are a very close group that really loves taking the field together and hanging out off the field. Literally every guy has a role and something they bring to this team.”
Going into Tuesday’s game with Cypress, Redondo had won 19 games in a row dating back to last season, the last loss coming in the final week of the 2015 regular season when Mira Costa swept the Sea Hawks to claim a share of the Bay League crown.
Redondo begins league action at Inglewood Wednesday then hosts the Sentinels on Friday, Apr. 16 in a 6 p.m. contest.
Redondo will conclude the regular season with an away-and-home series with Mira Costa May 10 and 12 in what could be a showdown between the two top teams in Division 3.
