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  • Cypress' Dominic Fletcher dives for second during Friday's game against...

    Cypress' Dominic Fletcher dives for second during Friday's game against Harvard-Westlake. Harvard-Westlake beat Cypress, 5-3 in the CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinals.

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    Cypress' Anthony Marquez celebrates a score against Harvard-Westlake on Friday. Harvard-Westlake beat Cypress, 5-3, in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 baseball playoffs.

  • Cypress' Dominic Fletcher dives back to second past Harvard-Westlake second...

    Cypress' Dominic Fletcher dives back to second past Harvard-Westlake second baseman Julian Girod. Harvard-Westlake eliminated Cypress, 5-3, in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs.

  • Cypress Ezele Wicks in Friday's game Harvard-Westlake. Harvard-Westlake stopped Cypress...

    Cypress Ezele Wicks in Friday's game Harvard-Westlake. Harvard-Westlake stopped Cypress for a win of 5 - 3 in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 baseball playoffs.

  • Cypress Aaron Lizarraga in Friday's game against Harvard-Westlake in Cypress....

    Cypress Aaron Lizarraga in Friday's game against Harvard-Westlake in Cypress. Harvard-Westlake beat out Cypress 5-3 in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 baseball playoffs.

  • Harvard-Westlake's Leo Kaplan springs but is unable to catch this...

    Harvard-Westlake's Leo Kaplan springs but is unable to catch this ball during Fridays game against Cypress. Harvard-Westlake downed Cypress, 5-3, in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 baseball playoffs.

  • Cypress' McCanless, left, dives back to first as Harvard-Westlake first...

    Cypress' McCanless, left, dives back to first as Harvard-Westlake first baseman Casey Slattery makes the catch in Friday's game.

  • Cypress' James Acuna pitched most of the game against Harvard-Westlake...

    Cypress' James Acuna pitched most of the game against Harvard-Westlake on Friday. Harvard-Westlake stopped Cypress 5 - 3 in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 baseball playoffs.

  • Harvard-Westlake's Cameron Deere defends against Cypress for a 5, 3...

    Harvard-Westlake's Cameron Deere defends against Cypress for a 5, 3 in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 baseball playoffs.

  • Harvard-Westlake's Nico Mannucci and Casey Giolito celebrate Harvard-Westlake's 5 -...

    Harvard-Westlake's Nico Mannucci and Casey Giolito celebrate Harvard-Westlake's 5 - 3 win over Cypress in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 baseball playoffs on Friday.

  • Harvard-Westlake first baseman Casey Slattery in Friday's game against Cypress....

    Harvard-Westlake first baseman Casey Slattery in Friday's game against Cypress. Harvard-Westlake defeated Cypress 5-3 in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 baseball playoffs.

  • Harvard-Westlake left fielder Leo Kaplan tries to gain control of...

    Harvard-Westlake left fielder Leo Kaplan tries to gain control of a Cypress hit. Harvard-Westlake defeated Cypress. 5-3.

  • Harvard-Westlake's Jake Suddleson watches a hit as he rounds second...

    Harvard-Westlake's Jake Suddleson watches a hit as he rounds second in Friday's action against Cypress. Harvard-Westlake stopped Cypress, 5-3 in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 baseball playoffs.

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CYPRESS – Harvard-Westlake of Studio City quickly made sure Cypress’ James Acuna wouldn’t throw back-to-back no-hitters, and it was the early damage that stood up.

Leo Kaplan hit a three-run home run in the first inning to propel the Wolverines to a 5-3 win over Cypress in a CIF-SS Division 1 quarterfinal game at Cypress High on Friday.

“This was an absolute dogfight,” Harvard-Westlake coach Jared Halpert said. “We just happened to come out on the right side of the scoreboard this time. This is what a quarterfinal game should look like.”

Harvard-Westlake (24-8) will be the designated home team when it takes on top-seeded JSerra in the semifinals at Blair Field in Long Beach on Tuesday.

Cypress (25-8) was in a tough spot as Acuna struggled with his pitch location in the first inning with two walks and a hit batter.

Kaplan came up with two on and took advantage.

“I was just looking for a fastball that I could drive,” Kaplan said. “He threw me a fastball up, then came with the slider, and then just gave me something I could hit. I just put a good swing on it.”

That swing put the ball over the left field fence scoring Kaplan, Jake Suddleson and Cameron Deere.

“We didn’t want to let him establish himself off of his fastball,” Halpert said. “We did that, but unfortunately the kid can throw three pitches for strikes.”

Acuna busted out his other pitches, racked up 10 strikeouts and did not allow a second hit until the seventh inning.

“I thought James was resilient today,” Cypress coach John Weber said. “He got through that, and really, most importantly, he established his slider. That’s a swing-and-miss slider through the mix there.”

Offensively, Cypress had to grind things out against Wolverines starter Deere.

Anthony Marquez scored in the second and fourth innings for the Centurions. Marquez was hit by a pitch and came home on Jason Baca’s groundout in the second. In the fourth, Marquez hit a single and scored on Isaiah Parra’s single.

“You could be a little disappointed or a little frustrated that we didn’t take better swings at it,” Weber said. “On the flipside of it, (Deere) didn’t miss up in the zone very much today. His slider was good and down.”

Deere pitched into the seventh inning and allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts.

Acuna started the seventh, but a leadoff bunt for a hit and walk forced Weber’s hand.

“He was at 107 pitches, which is, I think, more than we’ve ever thrown him,” Weber said. “He wanted to go, so we sent him back out (for the seventh). We knew it was going to be an incredibly short leash.”

Deere earned a RBI with a bases-loaded walk, and Kaplan got his fourth RBI with a single.

Baca led off with a double in the bottom of the seventh and scored on an Ezele Wicks sacrifice fly before Harvard-Westlake closed the door.