IRVINE – Entering the sixth inning, Buckley and Crean Lutheran seemed like teams going in opposite directions. Buckley had cut the Saints’ lead to one with a three-run fifth, and Crean Lutheran’s offense had stalled since the second inning.
Will Choi changed that with one swing of the bat.
Choi clubbed a grand slam to right field in the sixth inning, and Crean Lutheran went on to a 9-4 victory that earned the Saints their first trip to the CIF-SS Division 6 final.
“I felt it was a knockout punch,” Choi said of his first homer of the season and the first hit by a Saint at home this year as well. “I thought it was a sac fly. I think the wind got me a little bit and helped me out.”
After faltering in the quarterfinals last season, Crean Lutheran is going to play for a divisional title in its seventh season of fielding a varsity team.
“It was heartbreaking for all of us,” Choi said of last year’s defeat. “We wanted to come out and prove we were a better team.”
Crean Lutheran (23-7) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning after using two walks and an error to load the bases. Ryan Gaynor and Marc Lidd each hit RBI singles, which score P.J. Buratti and Gavin Folsom respectively, and Sean Horn drew a bases-loaded walk that drove in Choi.
After Buckley got a run back in the second, Crean Lutheran answered with two more in the bottom of the inning. Choi‘s RBI triple brought in Folsom, and a fielder’s choice by Gaynor allowed Choi to score.
In the fifth, Buckley (20-5) strung together five singles and scored three runs to chase Crean Lutheran starter Folsom. Will Tomlinson pitched perfect sixth and seventh innings to shut the door.
Crean Lutheran will square off with a familiar foe, Academy League rival Sage Hill, in the final Saturday. The Lightning have won an O.C. record 26 in a row, which includes two victories over Crean Lutheran in early May.
“Those first two games were virtual coin flips,” said Crean Lutheran coach Jake Haney. “There aren’t going to be any surprises. We know their lineup, they know our lineup. It’s going to be about who executes that day.”
While Sage Hills owns a recordsetting win streak, Crean Lutheran is averaging 15 runs a game in the postseason and has hasn’t lost to anyone besides Sage Hill since March.
Haney noted that the championship game will mean a little bit more than the teams’ previous games.
“Our guys are super excited to maybe have a little bit of redemption,” he said.
