JSerra's bats go silent in loss to Riverside Poly

RIVERSIDE - JSerra got off to a good start in its second-round Division I baseball playoff game against Riverside Poly on Tuesday afternoon and led after three innings.

But the Lions spent the rest of the game struggling at the plate and wound up losing to the Bears, 5-3.

The Lions (22-7) entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in Division I after winning their first Trinity League title.

Center fielder Dylan Christensen went 3 for 3 and had an RBI, but the rest of the Lions produced just two hits.

Riverside Poly (19-10-1), meanwhile, had nine hits, including two home runs.

“We knew that every game’s a battle, but we just couldn’t get the hits when we needed them,” JSerra coach Brett Kay said. “They (Riverside Poly) swung the bats when they needed to, and we didn’t. That’s the bottom line.”

Christensen gave JSerra a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when he scored from third on a balk.

The Lions gave the run back, though, with a balk called on starting pitcher Corey Miller in the bottom of the second.

A two-out double by Austin Hedges and an RBI-single by Christensen put JSerra back in the lead, 2-1, in the third inning.

In the fifth, Reed Reilly replaced Miller on the mound. Reilly allowed an RBI-single and a two-run home run, giving the Bears a 4-2 lead.

JSerra catcher Colton Plaia hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth to make it 4-3, but the Bears hit a solo home run off Reilly in the bottom of the sixth.

In the top of the seventh, Riverside Poly closer Evan Mott pitched a perfect inning, including two strikeouts, to end the game.

Riverside Poly advances to the quarterfinals to face the winner of the Villa Park-Millikan game.

“We knew the Trinity League is well known for fastballs and great pitching,” Riverside Poly coach Aaron More said. “There’s great pitching in that league. We wanted to stay under the radar and keep them off balance as much as we could.”

Contact the writer: preps@ocregister.com