In a Southern Section Division 1 baseball playoff opener that had so many twists, turns and drama that it couldn’t be completed before darkness arrived, Harvard-Westlake and Palos Verdes fought to a 0-0 tie through 13 innings on Thursday. The two teams will resume their game on Friday afternoon at Palos Verdes in the 14th inning.
“This is so insane,” said one student watching from the stands
“This is crazy, bro,” said another.
“Nuts,” said a parent.
Harvard-Westlake coach Jared Halpert said, “That was probably the craziest thing I’ve been a part of.”
The pitching was magnificent, so was the defense (one error in 13 innings) and the intensity was so high that players from both teams refused to back down and were chatting loudly after big plays.
Palos Verdes starter Alex Forman threw the first six innings, striking out eight. Reliever Garren Rizzo was even better, yielding one hit in seven innings. Harvard-Westlake starter Thomas Bridges threw 109 pitches and went 7 2/3 innings, striking out 10. Holden Rath got a single out. Then Bryce Rainer threw the ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th, striking out six. Eli Weinbach threw a scoreless 13th.
There were bang-bang plays in the sixth and seventh that could have ended the game. James Tronstein of Harvard-Westlake tried to score from second on a single, but center fielder Grant Govel made a perfect throw to catcher Luke Martoccia for the tag out.
In the bottom of the seventh, with two outs and the bases loaded, Palos Verdes came within inches of winning. Bridges threw a wild pitch. Catcher Jack Kelman was able to get the ball off the backstop, flip it to Bridges, who tagged the runner’s hand. The umpire called him out, ruling the tag came just before he touched home plate.
The winner of the game will play Orange Lutheran on Tuesday. Harvard-Westlake’s pitching staff is a little short because Duncan Marsten didn’t attend the game because of illness. Weinbach is expected to take the mound Friday for the 14th inning. Palos Verdes has several options but it’s unlikely to be Forman or Rizzo.
“I’ve never dealt with this before,” Palos Verdes coach Alex Morales said of resuming a game the next day. “It’s uncharted territory.”
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 1, Hart 0: Justin Lee struck out nine in 6 1/3 innings and Levi Sterling got the save for No. 1-seeded Notre Dame. Chris Downs pitched brilliantly in relief for Hart.
Cypress 3, Mira Costa 0: Luke Matlock threw five shutout innings with six strikeouts for Cypress.
Santa Margarita 6, Foothill 2: The No. 2-seeded Eagles wiped out a 2-0 deficit with a six-run sixth inning to advance in the Division 1 playoffs. Colin Clarke had a home run and also threw six innings.
