Crushing End For Mira Costa in CIF Semifinals

Drew Van Orden had used his pitch to gut his way out of trouble all afternoon, and there was plenty of it. Be it the fastball, the curve, the change, whatever the situation called for, it had been there for the Mira Costa High right-hander when he needed it most. So, no, there is no second-guessing his decision to shake in the bottom of the seventh inning of the CIF-Southern Section Division II semifinals.

Van Orden, who had allowed only one unearned run despite facing at least one batter with a runner in scoring position in five of the first six innings, wanted to throw a curveball.

It was the right pitch.

The execution, however, was short of perfect and Glendora left fielder Jacob Smigelski drilled it over the wall in left to put a crushing end to the Mustangs' season, Mira Costa going down 2-1 on Tuesday on a walk-off homer and the Tartans going on to the title game.

''I still think it was the right pitch and if it happened again, I'd go with it. I just didn't execute,'' said Van Orden, who shook off the sign from catcher Jackson Morrow for a changeup at 2-0.

''It wasn't a bad call, a bad decision. I just threw a bad pitch. I wanted to throw it right on the outside corner and I just left it [in the middle of the plate]. It would have been a strike, but it would have been right down the middle. That's exactly where I didn't want it.''

Had Van Orden put the curveball where he wanted, at least on that pitch, the outcome might have been drastically different. When he shook off the first sign Smigelski, hitless in his first three at-bats, had to shuffle what he was thinking, too.

He ended up not looking for a particular pitch but just a location.

''He was hitting the corners all day with me and I was just looking for something over the plate and he gave it to me,'' he said. ''He hung a curveball and I just put a good swing on it.''

The ball rocketed off his bat, and Smigelski knew he got it. His hands were over his head halfway up the first base line. Left fielder Bret Collins drifted back to the wall, but it was gone.

Mira Costa, which finished the season 18-15 and with a Bay League championship, had just missed its chance at a similar celebration in the top half of the inning.

Kris Cayton launched a fly ball to deep right field against Glendora starter Jacob Cage that was a foot or two from giving the Mustangs a lead, but instead landed in the glove of Kyle Layton.

''They're the No. 1 seed for a reason,'' Coach Cassidy Olson said. ''I don't think they thought it was going to be this kind of a battle. Our guys played their [butts] off. Their guy on the mound was good. Our guy on the mound was good. And the difference in this ball game is Kris Cayton probably missed the barrel by a quarter of an inch and their guy didn't.

''I don't know how you can get mad about that. It's just tiny little fractions. What a battle. Drew should feel just so proud of himself. I mean, one earned run in seven innings against a team that hit .350 and averaged probably six or seven runs a game.''

Van Orden just battled his way out of jams all game – Glendora had two runners on and no out in the first and didn't score, runners at first and second with two outs in the second and didn't score, a runner at second with one out in the sixth and didn't score.

The only mark crossed the plate with two on and two outs in the third, when a ground ball off the bat of Layton took a sharp hop on Mira Costa second baseman Danny Rojas and got away.

''He did awesome,'' Olson said, of his senior right-hander.

The last pitch is what it is.

''We always give them the freedom to shake and go with what they want,'' Olson said. ''I never second guess because, you know, how many pitches did he gets guys out with? I mean, there were some jams. They're too good of a team to hold to one run. He got out of jams with his pitches and we're confident with him throwing what he wants and making his pitch.

''That guy guessed and that guy guessed right. Like I said, what's the difference between that and Kris Cayton's? Millimeters.''