Less than a week after being eliminated from the Division 4 baseball playoffs to the Rio Mesa Spartans in the quarterfinals on a walk-off, the Saugus Centurions were given a second chance at a California Interscholastic Federation championship on Tuesday with a home matchup against Glendora in the semifinals.
But after a back-and-forth matchup with the Tartans, the Centurions were defeated 3-2 and officially eliminated from the postseason.
“I’m just super proud of these guys, and it’s been a long season and battled a lot,” Saugus head coach Mike Miller said. “Not the result we wanted but at the end of the day, this team never gave up and that’s all I can ask for.”
The Centurions, who secured their spot in the semifinals after the Rio Mesa Spartans self-reported a pitching violation in which a player exceeded the 30-out limit in a single calendar week, were granted home field for their semifinal matchup.
With the second chance, Miller said it was tough to get the team back on track following the loss in the quarterfinals but added the Centurions tried to approach the contest as a new opportunity.
“It was tough to get back because after that loss the seniors were thinking it was their last game when it wasn’t,” Miller said. “I feel like this team does good with adversity and we got together as a team and there was nothing to lose today, only something to gain.”
In the third inning in Tuesday’s semifinal, the Centurions brought the energy and took an early two-run lead after a two-run homer from Saugus’ Matt Long.
On the mound, junior Chase Kline began the game with five scoreless innings, and the Centurions looked poised to secure their bid into the Division 4 championship game.
But in the top of the sixth, the Tartans tagged a run with a sacrifice fly and secured the lead in the inning with a two-run homer from Glendora’s Santiago Garza.
After the Tartans took the lead, the Centurions did not register a single base hit or runner in the sixth and seventh innings and were eliminated from the playoffs.
Despite the loss, Miller said after the game, he’s proud of his team for overcoming adversity. And that although this year’s Centurions finished as semifinalist and didn’t reach the goal of a CIF title, this season’s roster set the standard for years to come.
“In terms of growth we kept getting better as a program and keeping the culture we changed and believe in to play Saugus baseball,” Miller said. “There are guys coming back and we got to double down on that culture and be ready to go.”
Here is the other local score from Tuesday’s semifinal round:
Brentwood School 8, Trinity 0: Following three straight playoff wins, the Knights’ playoff run came to an end on Tuesday in the Division 6 semifinals after a road loss to the Brentwood School Eagles of Los Angeles.
In the loss, the Knights’ pitching staff gave up eight runs along with 12 hits while Trinity’s offense only tagged three hits.
With the loss, the Knights are eliminated from the playoffs.
