LA VERNE – Damien of La Verdne came from behind to knock off defending CIF-Southern Section Division 2 champion Mission Viejo, 7-3, in a quarterfinal game on Friday.
The Spartans, seeded fifth, face South Hills in the semifinals Tuesday.
The Spartans started their winning rally with two outs in the fourth inning when Andy Garriola was hit by a pitch and went to second on an errant pick-off throw.
Sean Davis was sent in to pinch run and came home on a single by Connor Bartholomew.
“If you’re fortunate enough to have someone that can leg it out, you utilize your bench,” Spartans coach Andy Nieto said. “That still doesn’t matter who’s on base. You’ve still gotta have a good at-bat.”
Starting pitcher Nick Lodolo kept the rally going when he was hit by a pitch. John Lopez followed with a single and Harrison Spohn brought in both runners with a triple.
Spohn also hit a two-run home run in the third inning to tie the score at 3-3. He drove in four runs to lead the Spartans.
Both teams seemed rattled after a scary incident in the bottom of the second inning. A freshman trainer, Jake Della-Giustino, for Damien was struck in the head by a foul ball that went into the dugout.
The game was delayed for more than an hour as Della-Giustino was tended to by emergency personnel. He never lost consciousness and was able to walk to an ambulance that took him to a local hospital to be examined.
The Diabolos, with only two seniors in their lineup, took a 3-0 lead in the third.
Mitchell Narasaki walked to lead off the inning. Matt Austin was hit by a pitch. The base runners executed a double steal and both came home on a single by Zach Sanchez. Joey Garman drove in Sanchez with a two-out single.
“(Diablos’ starter) Tanner (Bibee) did everything he could,” Diabolos coach Chris Ashbach said. “I think that stoppage of time affected their guy too. It was just kind of a weird situation.”
