Except there was nothing normal about what was happening on Day 2 of a Southern Section Division 1 scoreless baseball playoff game between Harvard-Westlake and Palos Verdes that was halted by darkness going into the 14th inning on Thursday. Players showed up Friday with unwashed pants. Palos Verdes declined to take pregame infield. Fans filled the stadium seats not knowing if the game would last 10 minutes or 30 minutes.
It ended up taking 21 minutes to declare a winner. Two walks and two wild pitches in the top of the 14th inning allowed Cade Goldstein of Harvard-Westlake to score from third. In the bottom of the 14th, with a Palos Verdes runner on second, pitcher Eli Weinbach picked up a comebacker and made an underhand toss to first to deliver a 1-0 victory. Players sprinted from the dugout. Harvard-Westlake found a way to advance to a Tuesday matchup against Orange Lutheran at Hart Park.
“I was pretty excited,” said Weinbach, a senior who was the No. 3 starter for Harvard-Westlake and threw one scoreless inning Thursday. “I got eight hours sleep. I knew what I had to do. It was the biggest situation of my life. After I fielded the ball, I was screaming on my way to first base. It was the craziest game I’ve been a part of.”
A wild pitch in the seventh inning Thursday almost made a winner of Palos Verdes, but the umpire ruled Harvard-Westlake pitcher Thomas Bridges had tagged out the runner at the plate.
Goldstein saw the ball rolling toward first base Friday and easily scored, finishing with a fired-up salute. It was the first time Harvard-Westlake had scored after a drought of 22 innings and it happened without the aid of a hit.
“I’m definitely thanking the pitchers and the baseball gods,” Goldstein said.
Crespi 9, Grace Brethren 0: Chris Arce went four for four in the Division 2 playoff win. The Celts helped the Mission League go 4-0 in the playoffs. Isaiah Magdaleno struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings.
Sierra Canyon 2, Bishop Amat 1: Caden Sramek threw a complete game with nine strikeouts in the Division 1 opener. Kehden Hettiger had two hits and two RBIs for Sierra Canyon.
Long Beach Millikan 3, Maranatha 2: Austin Paul threw a complete game and Cameron Hegamin contributed two hits for Millikan.
Etiwanda 5, Capistrano Valley 2: Austin Roellig had three RBIs and Anthony Huezo hit a home run to lead Etiwanda. Dylan Goff struck out four in six innings.
Corona 7, Rancho Cucamonga 0: Freshman Anthony Murphy hit a three-run home run, his sixth of the season, and Ethan Schiefelbein struck out eight with no walks for Corona. It was the ninth shutout of the season for Corona’s pitching staff.
Villa Park 3, Damien 0: Brandon Luu struck out nine in the complete game. Gavin Grahovac had a home run.
La Mirada 4, Ayala 3: A bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning broke a 3-3 tie. Benjamin Kim had two hits for La Mirada.
Mater Dei 2, Oaks Christian 1: Braden Ruiz hit a walk-off home run in the ninth inning for Mater Dei, which scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game. Oaks Christian led most of regulation after a home run from Chris Tampoya.
It was a controversial call in the seventh. With a runner on second, Oaks Christian appeared to end the game with an out at first. But Mater Dei appealed and the umpire reversed the call. Then came the question whether the runner on second would have scored. The officials ruled the runner was halfway toward home and allowed the tying run. Oaks Christian protested, causing a delay while officials checked the rulebook. The umpire ruled it was a judgment call whether the runner would have scored, according to Mater Dei coach Richard Mercado.
Long Beach Poly 7, Beckman 6: The Jackrabbits pulled off the win on an inside-the-park walk-off home run by Max Pemberton after Beckman had scored four runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game.
West Ranch 6, Royal 5: Ty Deperno hit two home runs and finished with five RBIs for West Ranch.
Aquinas 7, Moorpark 3: Top-seeded Aquinas advanced in Division 2. Nate Christman had a home run.
Corona Santiago 6, Kaiser 5: The Sharks came back from a 4-1 deficit with a four-run sixth inning. Chris Ramirez had two hits and two RBIs.
Anaheim Canyon 11, Oak Hills 2: Cohen Gomez struck out six in five innings and Christian Tapia had three hits for Canyon.
Calabasas 9, Norco 3: The Coyotes rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win their Division 2 opener. Phoenix Call had three RBIs, Matthew Witkow had two RBIs and Desi Gonzalez went three for three.
South Hills 6, Great Oak 0: Sterling Patick struck out nine and allowed one hit for South Hills.
Campbell Hall 4, Providence 1: The Vikings advanced in Division 6 behind Tanner Mahon, who struck out 10.
San Clemente 7, Cerritos 5: Mike Erspamer allowed one run in six innings for San Clemente.
Simi Valley 1, West Torrance 0: Matthew Cuccias struck out eight in a complete game for the Pioneers.
Tesoro 2, Paloma Valley 1: Jackson Freeman hit a walk-off home run in the eighth inning, his 12th homer of the season.
Quartz Hill 5, Citrus Valley 3: Twins Ismael and Isaac Quintero pitched Quartz Hill to victory. Ismael got the win and Isaac the save. Jeffrey Kavanagh hit a three-run home run.
Cleveland 5, Granada Hills 4: The Cavaliers handed the Highlanders their first West Valley League loss. Matthew Sanders threw a complete game and Richard Libby, Gabriel Rubin, Kevin Vazquez and Quinton Riepl each had two hits. Easton Hawk had a home run and three hits for Granada Hills.
Birmingham 9, Chatsworth 2: Trevor Sostman hit a three-run home run for the Patriots.
El Camino Real 3, Taft 0: Tyler Sileo threw a complete game for El Camino Real.
Softball
Norco 9, Gahr 5: Top-seeded Norco advanced in Division 1. Riley Potter had a double, triple and four RBIs.