By Justin Vigil-Zuniga
Signal Sports Writer
Valencia baseball fell just short in the CIF Division 4 quarterfinals, losing to Tesoro, 1-0 on the road.
Titans senior Hunter Sablatura hit the walk-off RBI in the bottom of the ninth inning, bringing in outfielder Kevin McCaffery to end the game.
It was an absolute pitchers’ duel, highlighted by Tesoro starting pitcher Coleton Dahl, who threw seven strong innings, allowing just one hit, one walk and no runs.
Valencia starting pitcher Tyler Biggs gave it all to keep his team alive. The senior held Tesoro scoreless through his 6.1 innings of work, allowing only five hits and one walk.
The Vikings managed to get a couple of guys on in extra innings but were unable to bring anyone in to score.
The Vikings battled all the way through in their third straight road playoff game.
Relief pitcher Ricky Ojeda entered the game in the seventh for Biggs. The junior slinger would get through 2.1 innings before surrendering the game-winning RBI.
Ojeda has been hot in the playoffs and has allowed just four hits in his 4.2 innings of postseason work while fanning six.
The Titans will now move on to the semifinals and host the El Modena Vanguards.
Valencia had one of the quickest turnarounds in recent years. First-year head coach Brad Meza took a team with a decent number of returners from last year’s 11-win season and flipped the team into a 17-win, second-place team.
