Fountain Valley scored four runs in the third inning to take the lead.
This fazed JSerra not in the slightest.
The Lions quickly regained the lead and went on to beat Fountain Valley, 7-5, Tuesday in a CIF-SS Division 1 second-round baseball playoff game at JSerra.
JSerra (27-4-1) will play at Hart of Newhall (18-9-2) in the quarterfinals Friday. Hart beat Calabasas, 3-0, Tuesday.
JSerra’s Ryan Pena hit a three-run home run. Brady Shockey hit two doubles and had three RBI. Sam Cohen contributed a run-scoring double.
Pena’s homer in the second inning gave JSerra a 3-0 advantage. Fountain Valley scored four runs in the top of the third, including an RBI single by Michael Murphy and a sacrifice fly by Travis Burleson, to take a 4-3 lead. JSerra scored twice on a two-run double by Shockey in the bottom half of the inning to go back on top, 5-4.
Shockey and Cohen hit back-to-back, run-scoring doubles in the fourth inning to make it 7-4. Fountain Valley got a run in the seventh on an RBI single from Pierson Loska. The Barons had runners on first and third JSerra relief pitcher Jake Pries got a game-ending strikeout to end that rally.
The Lions have a batting order loaded with college-recruited players, including USC-bound Shockey and Cohen. Their No. 9 hitter, Christian Molfetta, signed with Stanford.
Shockey said the teams always is confident that it can quickly overcome a deficit.
“This team’s pretty resilient,” said Shockey, a junior center fielder. “If we’re down, we’ll fight and scratch our way back.”
Pena’s home run came on an 0-2 count after he fouled off three consecutive pitches. Shockey’s first double was on a 3-0 pitch that the left-handed hitter pulled down the right field line. His second double was a drive into the left-center field gap.
Quentin Longrie pitched the first three innings to get the win and improve to 7-0. Collin Quinn replaced him in the fourth inning and pitched into the seventh. Pries entered with one out in the seventh and got the final two outs.
JSerra won the Trinity league championship. Fountain Valley finished second in the Sunset League. In this week’s Orange County top 10, JSerra is No. 1 and Fountain Valley is No. 6.
Also in Division 1:
El Dorado 3, Harvard-Westlake of Studio City 0: Jake Mahood pitched four shutout innings and Skyler McMillen and Nick Sprengel preserved the shutout for the visiting Golden Hawks (21-8). Christian Cosby, Rob Diaz and Ian Meyer drove in the El Dorado runs.
El Dorado plays Huntington Beach in the quarterfinals Friday. The home team will be determined by coin flip.
In Division 2:
Mission Viejo 8, Oxnard 0: Karl Fischer homered and drove in three runs and Cole Joy and Anthony Miller had two RBI each for the host Diablos (23-10). They play at Royal of Simi Valley in the quarterfinals Friday.
In Division 4:
Sunny Hills 7, Grand Terrace 6: Jeff James homered and drove in two runs for the host Lancers (19-9). Sunny Hills finished third in the Freeway League and had to win a wild-card round game to get to the first round. The Lancers play West Torrance in the quarterfinals Friday. The home team will be determined by coin flip.
Sonora 5, Katella 2: Starting pitcher Austin Weddle went 61/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and struck out six for the Raiders. Gabe Armstrong gave his team a 3-1 cushion in the sixth by blasting a run-scoring double to deep center. The Raiders added its final two runs in the seventh with the help of two wild pitches.
In Division 6:
Sage Hill 5, Rio Hondo Prep 2 (8 innings): The visiting Lightening (21-6) advanced to the quarterfinals, as did two other Academy League teams which also won away games Tuesday. Oxford Academy beat Calvary Murrieta, 6-5, and Crean Lutheran got its second shutout in as many playoff games with an 8-0 win at Santa Paula.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
