El Camino Real and San Pedro reach title game
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With a trip to Dodger Stadium at stake, no one could blame the baseball players from Woodland Hills El Camino Real and San Pedro for engaging in all-out celebratory dogpiles Wednesday afternoon after each school pulled out City Section Division I semifinal victories.
No. 3-seeded El Camino Real (18-11) required eight innings to defeat No. 2 Wilmington Banning, 3-0. Jake Mills’ two-run triple in the top of the eighth broke a scoreless game, and junior Jose Cardona (10-1) turned in the best pitching performance of his prep career, throwing a one-hitter. He struck out eight, walked two and produced 12 ground-ball outs.
No. 5 San Pedro (24-5) upset No. 1 Chatsworth, 8-5. Dan Matienzo hit a three-run home run and finished with five runs batted in. Jonathan Mata struck out eight and gave up four hits. It was the first playoff loss at home for Chatsworth since 2000 and ended the Chancellors’ three-year reign as City champions.
For seven innings, the El Camino Real-Banning game was a pitching duel between two juniors who were All-City pitchers as sophomores. The right-handed Cardona had a no-hitter for 4 1/3 innings and retired 11 consecutive batters until Jonathan Hernandez got a single in the fifth. The left-handed Hernandez (8-4) was almost as effective, striking out five, walking three and working himself out of several tough situations because of three Banning errors.
“He did his job, I did my job,” Cardona said. “It was going to end one way, and we got to him.”
In the eighth, Mitch Bluman led off with a single. After a fly out, Chris Nicholson singled. Then Mills, on a 3-and-2 count, drove the ball to center field. Francisco Chavez tried to make a diving catch but failed, and two runs scored. Daniel Dungan added a sacrifice fly.
“I kept fighting and fighting and he left a pitch a little high,” Mills said.
Meanwhile, Cardona, who has committed to Cal State Fullerton, had close to an unhittable curveball.
“From the third inning on, I found it and I knew that was their weakness,” Cardona said.
El Camino Real’s defense was flawless. In three playoff victories, the Conquistadores have yet to make an error.
“I wanted to do one job, and I had one goal — to win and get to Dodger Stadium,” Cardona said. “And it happened. All I had to do was throw strikes and let my defense work.”
El Camino Real will face San Pedro in Saturday’s 1 p.m. final at Dodger Stadium. In the Division II final at 10 a.m., Westchester will play Venice.
