San Marcos baseball season comes to a stunning end in a wild CIF-SS Division 4 first round game
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - San Marcos High School was one strike away from advancing in the CIF-SS Division 4 baseball playoffs.
But the Loyola Cubs Luca DiPaolo worked a walk to load the bases and by the time the 5-run rally ended Loyola erased a 3-0 seventh inning deficit and held on for a stunning 5-4 first round victory.
After a hit batter forced in the first Loyola run, Jackson Shea roped a 2-run single off of reliever Cole Schoenwetter to tie the game at 3.
The next batter Walker Urban hammered a 2-run double to put the Cubs up 5-3.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Royals Darren Orlando doubled in Brendan Cekada to make it a 1-run game.
A wild pitch sent Orlando to third with just one out.
With the infield drawn in, Owen Estabrook chopped a ball to the left of the second baseman but the Royals did not send the runner and the out was recorded at first with Orlando still parked at third.
Emmett Speake grounded out to first and Loyola celebrated an incredible comeback victory.
San Marcos senior and TCU-commit Chase Hoover was terrific on the mound as he pitched 6 innings and struck out 11.
He was charged with 2 runs as he began the seventh inning and walked the first batters before exiting the game as he was nearing the pitch count limit.
Schoenwetter, a UCSB-commit, lit up the radar gun with fastballs clocked at 95mph but credit the Cubs for catching up to the heat.
The back-to-back Channel League champion Royals end the season 17-8.