With the score tied, a man on third and one out in the bottom of the fifth inning on a cool, windy Tuesday afternoon, St. John Bosco’s Moises Razo stood in the batter’s box with a 3-and-0 count against Harvard-Westlake’s hard-throwing Ethan Alexander. He looked over to coach Andy Rojo near third base. For the first time all season, Rojo gave him the green light to swing on a 3-0 count.
“We just wanted to be aggressive,” Rojo said.
With Harvard-Westlake’s infield in, Razo hit a single to right field to drive in Jaden Jackson and ignite a 3-1 win to send St. John Bosco back to Cal State Fullerton trying to win its second consecutive Southern Section Division 1 championship Friday night. The Braves will face Norco, a 5-2 winner over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. There won’t be a better pitching matchup, with Julian Garcia of St. John Bosco facing Jordan Ayala of Norco.
“I’m excited,” Garcia said.
Jaden Jackson turns on the speed for St. John Bosco in win over Harvard-Westlake.
(Craig Weston / For The Times)
St. John Bosco (26-5) got four innings on the mound from Jack Champlin, who only gave up an RBI single to sophomore William Lynch. The big surprise was sophomore Troy Sibolboro throwing three scoreless innings of relief, including a strikeout of the hot hitting James Tronstein. Sibolboro sat out the first half of the season after transferring from St. Paul and has become a high-leverage relief pitcher, helping the Braves knock off Sierra Canyon and Mater Dei in recent weeks out of the bullpen.
“I’ve been comfortable,” Sibolboro said. “Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve liked pressure. [Tronstein] is pretty good. I let everything out on that pitch, a slider.”
Razo has stepped up in the clutch. He had the walk-off hit against Cypress in the first playoff game. He had a diving catch at first base on a line drive from Tronstein in the seventh.
“It feels amazing,” he said of reaching another championship game.
Harvard-Westlake ends its season at 26-6 with lots of players set to return next season, but gone is senior Tronstein, who finished with 52 hits, a .531 batting average and 10 home runs.
Jacob Melendez hit a two-run home run and got the save in Norco’s semifinal win over Notre Dame. Dylan Seward had two hits and two RBIs. Norco started the playoffs as the No. 1 seed but lost early at Notre Dame. Thanks to a new pool format in the opening rounds giving teams that lost a chance to recover, the Cougars find themselves one win away from a Division 1 title.
Division 2
Loyola, the fifth-place finisher in the Mission League, will face Ganesha in the Division 2 final. The Cubs will have freshman pitcher Sheriff Hall ready to go in the final. They beat Foothill 6-3. Luca Marucci had a home run. The Cubs scored five runs in the sixth inning.
Ganesha received three hits from Logan Schmidt to rally for a 2-1 win over Newport Harbor, winning it on a walk-off hit batter in the bottom of the seventh. Gavin Guy struck out eight for Newport Harbor. Ganesha has a well-rested Schmidt ready to go in the final. He’s expected to be a first-round draft pick this summer.
Division 3
Agoura and Mira Costa have advanced to the Division 3 final. Agoura defeated Long Beach Millikan 3-1. Freshman Zach Partee gave up two hits in six innings. Cal Meyer got the save.
Mira Costa defeated St. Francis 12-0. Charlie Carroll threw five scoreless innings. Ace Tarango finished with three hits and two RBIs.
Division 4
Glendora will face Laguna Beach in the championship game. Glendora defeated Saugus 3-2 Santiago Garza wiped out a 2-1 deficit in the sixth inning with a two-run home run. Laguna Beach defeated Grand Terrace 2-1. Lincoln Adams broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI double in the fifth.
Division 6
Jake Kaplan struck out 10, walked one and gave up three hits to lead Brentwood to an 8-0 semifinal win over Trinity Classical Academy. Owen Boelk went three for three. Brentwood will face Covina, a 6-1 winner over Lakewood. Lucas Thorpe had four hits for Covina.