May 15, 2008

Scots can't quite pull upset

Errors open gates for Mitty in CCS playoffs

By John Reid / Daily News Staff Writer

Five full innings had gone by and Carlmont's Devin Bradley had bedeviled No. 4 Archbishop Mitty-San Jose by varying his locations, mixing up his speeds and sprinkling in some old-fashioned guts. The No. 13-seeded Scots smelled a first round upset in Wednesday's Central Coast Section Div. I baseball playoffs, taking a three-run lead into the bottom of the sixth.

But, two Scots' errors to begin the sixth led to their ultimate demise. The Monarchs - buoyed by a towering three-run homer by Mitch Haniger - scored five straight runs before an out was recorded. The Scots' season ended with a 5-3 defeat, but not before they showed what kind of baseball they were capable of playing.

"I'm very proud of my club," Carlmont coach Rich Vallero said. "Mitty is a great team, one of the best in the WCAL. We didn't have the easiest of draws, but we came down here focused. A lot of guys stepped up. We had no fear and we weren't intimidated."

"Carlmont is a tough club," Mitty coach Bill Hutton said. "They made all the plays and got some big hits. The pressure was on us because we were playing the first round at home. Their pitcher pitched fantastic."

Bradley led off the game with a first-pitch line drive single off of Monarchs' No. 1 hurler, Trevor Hildenberger, who could bring some heat. Hildenberger, a junior, settled down to get an inning-ending double play.

Bradley (7-4) allowed two hits in the first frame, but got out of the jam. He pitched to just two batters over the minimum the next four innings, issuing a walk, a double to Elliot Stewart in the fourth and a single to Scott Masik in the fifth. In what looked like an omen in the Scots' favor, Masik was called out for runner's interference while going into second base trying to break up a double play on a grounder to second by Alex Gordon. Gordon beat Carlmont shortstop Jarrod Hopper's throw to first, but the interference call resulted in an inning-ending double play with Gordon called out.

The Scots (19-12) plated a run in the second. Nick Misa got on board first with a flare to right for a single, then moved up on Brett Gavasse's sac bunt. Misa took third on a ground out, scoring on an infield single by Garrett Treadwell.

It appeared Carlmont would add to its lead after a crushing double to deep center by Hopper led off the fourth inning. Misa's hard bunt got past a charging Monarchs first baseman Nik Balog and Hildenberger didn't field the ball right away, thinking someone else was going to make the play. Misa was credited with a hit as Hopper took third on the play. However, the next hitter bounded into a crisp 5-4-3 double play with Hopper having to hold at third base. Hildenberger fanned the next batter to escape any damage.

With one out in the fifth, the Scots Kyle Leong walked before Webster reached first on an infield single. Bradley's grounder to short was kicked to fill the bases. Another fielding error on a ground ball by Jamie Fanti scored Leong and Webster, both runs unearned. Hopper laid down a squeeze bunt in an effort to score Bradley, but Hopper was called out by the plate umpire for stepping on the plate while making contact with the ball.

The Scots' failure to capitalize fully on opportunities came back to bite them in the bottom of the sixth. Two tough fielding errors were followed by RBI singles by Balog and Stewart, bringing Haniger to the plate. With the count 2-2, Bradley came in with a low and away changeup and Haniger golfed it over the left field fence, his third homer of the year.

Vallero had action in the bull pen, but he opted to leave Bradley in.

"Bradley has the heart of a lion," Vallero said. "If I'm going to go down, I'm going down with Bradley. I was going all the way with him. We had just one bad inning. We gained Mitty's respect."

"I didn't feel that tired," Bradley said. "He just made a good swing on the ball. We had a lot of fun this year. We showed we could play with them."

The Scots hadn't been to the CCS baseball playoffs since the year 2000.

"We got a taste of what it's like," Vallero said. "Now we're hungry. We want some more. Next year, we'll expect to get back to CCS."



E-mail John Reid at

jreid@dailynewsgroup.com.



Carlmont 010 020 0 - 3 7 2

Mitty 000 005 X - 5 8 2

Bradley, Treadwell (6) and Ching; Hildenberger, Plambeck (5), Fletcher (6) and Stewart. WP-Fletcher (2-1). LP-Bradley (7-4). 2B - Hopper (C); Stewart (M). HR - Haniger (M). 2 hits - Misa (C); Balog, Stewart, Masik (M). 3 RBI - Haniger (M).