ANAHEIM – San Clemente managed only one hit in its Anaheim Lions Tournament game against Simi Valley on Tuesday at Brookhurst Park.
But the Tritons were able to capitalize on five first-inning walks and got gutsy pitching and clutch defense in a 4-3 victory over the visiting Pioneers.
The Tritons (10-6) improved to 4-0 in the tournament and advanced to the championship game. They will take on Valencia of Placentia in the championship game Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at La Palma Park.
Valencia defeated McQueen of Nevada, 5-3, on Tuesday.
Despite the victory, Tritons coach Dave Gellatly was disappointed with his team’s offensive output.
“That wasn’t pretty,” Gellatly said. “We did just enough to win. Our approaches at the plate weren’t good. We’re not going to win baseball games if we continue to do that.”
San Clemente starting pitcher Evan Banks struggled early. He allowed a one-out triple to Marcus Padilla, and that was followed by run-scoring double from Justin Campbell to give the Pioneers (11-3) a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Banks avoided further damage when shortstop Mike McGreevy caught a line drive off the bat of William Parker and then tossed the ball to second baseman Spencer Bramwell to double up Campbell.
The Tritons came right back in the bottom of the inning, scoring all the runs they would need to win the game.
Three of the Tritons’ first five batters walked and one was hit by a pitch.
Zach Scove walked with the bases loaded and Charlie Loust followed with a two-run single to give San Clemente a 3-1 lead.
Another bases-loaded walk made the score 4-1.
After his shaky first, Banks didn’t allow a hit over the next two innings. Then came the fourth, and Banks walked two batters. A run scored on an error.
Brady Miles then hit an RBI single to get the Pioneers to within a run.
After a scoreless fifth, Connor Brannon came in to pitch the final two innings for the Tritons. He gave up two hits and struck out the final batter of the game to pick up the save.
