Los Alamitos scores five in seventh to beat Canyon, 7-6
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Baseball playoffs: A wild final inning helps top-seeded Griffins stay alive.
ANAHEIM No. 1 seed Los Alamitos trailed by three runs and was two outs away from being eliminated by unseeded Canyon in a CIF-SS Division I second-round baseball game Tuesday at Canyon High.
The Griffins rallied for five runs to take the lead, and then held off a charge by the Comanches in the bottom of the seventh for a 7-6 victory.
Los Alamitos (26-3), riding a 13-game winning streak, will play host to No. 3 Mater Dei in a Division I quarterfinal on Friday.
“We've done it before,” said Los Alamitos coach Mark Clabough of his team's late rally. “We never sensed any panic. They didn't quit … that's for sure.”
Canyon starting pitcher Gabe Garcia had been pitching out of trouble for most of the contest. He got out of a one-out, bases-loaded situation without allowing a run, and two other times got through potentially big innings with little damage done.
Shortstop Joey Boney's two-run home run keyed a four-run second for the Comanches, who led, 5-2, heading into the seventh.
Kenny Uyetake led off the seventh for Los Alamitos with a walk.
Canyon coach Joe Hoggatt then replaced Garcia with Alex Najera, who retired his first batter. Then five consecutive batters reached base for the Griffins.
Zach Hannaford singled home a run to make the score 5-3 with the bases loaded.
Brian Tripp hit a chopper to short that looked as though it could be a game-ending double play. But the ball took a high hop over the right shoulder of Boney and went into left-center field, allowing two runs to score.
A wild pitch put runners on second and third and Eric Robbins singled those runners home, giving the Griffins a 7-5 lead.
Boney led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple and scored on Tommy Mobley's flyout to right, but that's all the Comanches could muster.
Beau Wright picked up the victory in relief, allowing a run on six hits and striking out six through the final five innings.
(Click here for more game stats)
Contact the writer: lponsi@ocregister.com
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