El Toro seniors pick up another title

El Toro won a CIF baseball championship last year, thanks in large part to an excellent group of juniors.

Those players are doing pretty well as seniors, too.

A senior-started rally, finished by a junior, produced two runs in the seventh inning to give the Chargers a 4-3 victory over Foothill on Tuesday at Foothill. The victory clinched El Toro's third league championship in as many years as a member of the Sea View League.

El Toro, ranked No. 1 in Orange County and in CIF-Southern Section Division II, will go into the playoffs as the league's No. 1 representative, guaranteeing the Chargers (21-4, 13-1) a home game in the first round May 21.

Playoff seedings and wild card-round and first-round pairings will be released Monday.

Foothill, ranked No. 8 in the county and No. 9 in Division II, will be the Sea View's No. 2 playoff team. The Knights (18-7, 10-4) could be on the road or at home in the first round.

The Chargers trailed, 3-2, going into the seventh. Senior center fielder Andrew Wellman led off with a single and went to second on a single by senior third baseman Trevor Jensen.

Senior shortstop Nolan Arenado followed. His reputation as a power hitter kept the Foothill infield at medium depth, but Arenado dropped a drag bunt for a single to load the bases.

One out later, junior second baseman Garrett Donohoe hit a chopper into left field to drive in Wellman and Jensen.

Donohoe was faced with a 1-2 count when he delivered his two-run single.

"I was just trying to put the ball in play with two strikes on me," Donohoe said. "Hopefully, something good would happen, and it did."

Senior left-hander Aaron Wirsch (10-0) retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to secure the victory.

El Toro had taken a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Donohoe doubled up the hill in right field to drive in Arenado, who had singled. Senior first baseman Dillon Penprase followed with a single, and an error in the outfield allowed Donohoe to score.

In the fifth, Foothill senior center fielder Ben Douglas hit a three-run double to give the Knights a 3-2 lead.

Colin Welmon (7-2) pitched a complete game for the Knights, but got the loss. His other loss also was by the complete-game route to El Toro, a 1-0 decision April 2.

El Toro and Foothill have had some tight games in their three years as league rivals.
“We’ve played them eight times,” El Toro coach Mike Gonzales said, “and seven of those games were decided by one run.”

El Toro’s record in three years in the Sea View League is a cumulative 39-5.

Foothill and El Toro play each other Thursday at El Toro in the regular-season finale for both.

- STEVE FRYER, OCVarsity.com 

In the Sunset League:

No. 4 Edison 4, Los Alamitos 0: Sophomore Henry Owens pitched a three-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts to help the Chargers (18-5, 11-3) clinch at least a share of the league title with a victory over the visiting Griffins (11-13, 5-9).

Donald Sneed and Matt Streit both hit two-run home runs for the Chargers.

Esperanza 3, Marina 2 (8 innings): Clay Shephard homered in the bottom of the eighth to lift the Aztecs (13-11-1, 8-6) past the visiting Vikings (20-5, 10-4).

The Vikings must win their game against the Aztecs on Thursday at Marina and have Edison lose to Los Alamitos to earn a share of the Sunset title.

In the South Coast League:

Tesoro 4, Dana Hills 1: Ryan Goodbrand (6-0) pitched a complete game and struck out nine as the Titans (18-7, 9-5) took sole possession of second place with the victory over the visiting Dolphins (15-9, 8-6).

Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com