RIVERSIDE – What’s more satisfying: throwing a no-hitter or winning a CIF-SS championship?
It was too tough for Capistrano Valley Christian pitcher AJ Discenzo to decide between either, so he accomplished both Saturday.
Discenzo’s no-hitter powered the Eagles to a 5-0 victory against Sierra Canyon in the CIF-SS Division 6 championship game at UC Riverside.
The performance helped Capistrano Valley Christian (21-13) rid itself of the sour taste of Division 6 title game losses the past two seasons.
“My mindset was throw strikes and get ahead … I started off a little shaky to be honest,” Discenzo said. “I made my adjustments when I needed to make my adjustments. It worked out, and we just won CIF, and I don’t know what to say.
“I just threw a no hitter, it’s the best day of my life.”
Discenzo struck out five batters and walked three. He almost lost the no-hit bid in the final at-bat when he fielded a grounder hit by the Trailblazers’ Wes Wright.
Discenzo slipped and had to throw the ball to first base from his knees, but he was able to get the throw there barely in time.
It was a pitchers duel for the better part of four innings as Sierra Canyon starter Seth Stone pitched solid, but the fifth is when the wheels fell off.
Eric Fukuda recorded a RBI double to make it a 3-0 lead in the fifth, then Brooks Duggan pushed the lead to four runs with a RBI single.
Stone allowed seven hits, gave up four runs and struck out six in 4 1/3 innings pitched for Sierra Canyon (28-6).
Parker Coss went 2 for 4 at the plate with a RBI double in the third to give the Eagles an early 2-0 lead. Fukuda, Duggan and Willie Quiros also had two hits each to help the program earn its first-ever CIF championship in baseball.
“The first time was sadness, but (we were) still optimistic. The second time was sadness more from the first year and the second year,” Eagles coach Clemente Bonilla said of previous playoff heartbreaks. “So take that feeling, multiply it by 10 and put happiness on that because the third time was the charm for us … this made it feel so much better.”
Contact the writer: amorales@ocregister.com
