Calvary Chapel baseball was up for the task of cooling off the red-hot Saugus Centurions.
The Eagles beat the Centurions on the road, 6-2, in the CIF Division 5 playoff opener, snapping Saugus’ nine-game win streak.
Calvary (14-12) struck in just two innings but got more runs than it needed. Back-to-back RBI doubles from Matthew Madrid and Waylon Pipia put the Eagles up 4-0 in the second inning.
Pipia gave his team another RBI double in the third and finished the game a perfect 4-for-4.
Saugus gave Calvary Chapel some help with a combined 10 batters based via errors, walks and batters hit by pitches.
“I told them how much I cared about them, how much I loved them, and I was disappointed that we didn’t finish the story like we wanted to,” said Saugus coach Carl Grissom. “We did beat ourselves but I don’t want to take anything from that team because they beat us. They had guys that came out to pitch and threw strikes.”
Calvary nearly put the game out of reach in the fifth after loading the bases with just one out. However, on the next play, right fielder Dominick Zambrano made a solid catch and an even better throw to the plate, where catcher Owen Kreuzberger was ready to complete the 9-2 double play.
The Centurions had opportunities to score and stranded six base runners on the day.
Saugus finally struck in the fourth with a 2 RBI single from first baseman Mason Maher.
The Centurions found ways on bases but just couldn’t get the better of Calvary pitchers Jacob Flores and Trevor Boisvert.
Center fielder James Frias tripled in the bottom of the first inning with one out but was left stranded.
Saugus sent out sophomore Parker Allman to the hill, who had several strong showings this season. Allman didn’t have his best stuff, leading the way for reliever Gio Garfalo to shut the door.
Garfalo gave up a couple of runs in the third but held Saugus in the game, allowing just three balls to be barreled into the outfield.
“Gio came in and he gave us the opportunity to win, and that’s all you can ever ask for,” Grissom said. “He gave us an opportunity to win and we just didn’t fulfill our end of the bargain.”
Allman and Garfalo were a combo of pitchers riding high into the postseason as the duo was hot off a combined no-hitter against Castaic last week.
Saugus opened up the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back singles. Pinch hitter Matthew Montiel nearly made it three straight hits but Eagles freshman Ben Steele made a tough catch in right field. Boisvert shook off the opening singles and retired his next three to advance Calvary into the second round of the Division 5 bracket.
Saugus’ magical season is over but Grissom is proud of his team for making something special out of a year that looked over early.
“A lot of people were like, ‘They’re done,’ especially after the season that we had before,” Grissom said. “I give them all the credit in the world. They just said, ‘We got nothing to worry about. Let’s just go out, have fun and play baseball.’ That’s what they did and they put a couple of wins together. Then all of a sudden we’re at nine in a row.”
The Centurions began the year 0-7 and, from the outside looking in, the program looked to potentially drop from its poor 7-20 showing in 2023. However, despite the shaky start, Saugus entered league play with confidence and title aspirations.
Saugus was only swept by West Ranch, beat Valencia for the first time in three years, and was the only team to beat and sweep Hart.
The Centurions now graduate another large senior class of 19 seniors, who all began their Saugus baseball careers under strict COVID-19 restrictions in 2020.
“I will keep this team in my memory bank for a long time because they brought a lot of happiness and a lot of sadness, but mainly happiness to my life,” Grissom said. “I think every team that I coach has a little piece of my heart and this team will obviously have a big piece of my heart. It’s going to be sad to see a lot of those guys leave because I remember them when they came into summer camp. This group in particular because there was COVID and I was getting Lysol and wiping the balls down.”
Wesley Yim ends his strong senior campaign with a 1.59 ERA, 46 strikeouts and just eight walks this season. Senior Dominick Zambrano led Saugus with 21 hits, six doubles and a .328 batting average.
Calvary Chapel will advance into the second round of play on Tuesday at Monrovia High School.
