ENCINO — Harvard-Westlake doesn’t like it easy.
A year removed from an undefeated Mission League title and a first-round exit of the playoffs, the Wolverines have found success through the struggle this season, including losing two of their last three league games to Notre Dame.
For the third straight game, Harvard-Westlake overcame a deficit to win, this time 6-2 in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal against Huntington Beach on Tuesday to advance to the finals at Dodger Stadium against Cypress on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
“We stay with our approach no matter what,” Harvard-Westlake shortstop Drew Bowser said.
In the second round of the playoffs, it was a come-from-behind win over Ayala. In the quarterfinals, it took heroics from Michael Snyder in the bottom of the seventh inning to top Orange Lutheran. Tuesday, it was a sixth-inning rally that anchored the victory.
“Our kids are tough,” Harvard-Westlake coach Jared Halpert said. “We have scars that remind us we didn’t get here easily. It’s easy to look at who you’re playing and get down on yourself. This team doesn’t do that.”
Bowser’s RBI single in the bottom of the first inning gave Harvard-Westlake a 1-0 lead, but it was quickly erased by Huntington Beach in the second. Back-to-back doubles from Brett Berrera and Shane Stafford anchored a two-run inning.
“Huntington Beach is what West Coast high school baseball is all about,” Halpert said. “I have so much respect for that program. We found more gaps and the ball bounced our way today.”
Starting sophomore pitcher Christian Becerra and senior reliever Bryant Reese helped to keep the deficit to just one run for the Wolverines. In the fifth inning, a Tyler Ganus sacrifice fly tied the score at 2-2 before Harvard-Westlake made its knockout punch in the sixth inning.
Bowser hit a two-run single before Jacob Galloway followed with a two-run single of his own to make it 6-2. Bowser, a Stanford commit, finished 4 for 4 with three RBIs.
“We were all focused on just doing our job today,” Bowser said. “We all trust that everyone is going to do their job, too.”
Ace pitcher Sam Hliboki threw in the top of the seventh to ensure that the Wolverines’ next game would be at Dodger Stadium for the Division 1 crown, which is familiar territory for Halpert.
Drew Bowser delivers with a 2-RBI single. Harvard-Westlake leads 4-2, B6. @dreezydoesit2 @hwathletics | @hwbaseball pic.twitter.com/XIOCgHIMo6
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) May 15, 2019
Halpert played his high school baseball at Chatsworth High. In 1999, he was a freshman, and in 2001 he was a junior when the Chancellors competed in the L.A. City Section championship at Dodger Stadium.
“I want to say it’s cool, sure, but it’s not about me. It’s about the players that have worked so hard,” Halpert said. “It’s about the kids that have grinded their way to that game Saturday after back-to-back first-round playoff knockouts the past two seasons.”
Harvard-Westlake’s last CIF title came in 2013 when pitcher Jack Flaherty, who is now with the St. Louis Cardinals, was a junior at the school. The Wolverines lost to Murrieta Mesa in the 2016 Division 1 title game.
Harvard-Westlake athletic director Matt LaCour was the head coach in 2013. Halpert was the head coach in 2016 and will be in the hunt for his first career coaching title Saturday.
