Hodina and Estabrook lead San Marcos past Westlake and into CIF-SS D3 Championship game

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The battery was fully charged for San Marcos High School baseball.

The pitching and catching combination of Caden Hodina and Owen Estabrook powered the Royals past Westlake 2-0 and into the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game for the first time in program history.

San Marcos will play Aliso Niguel this weekend at Blair Field in Long Beach at a date and time to be announced by the CIF.

Hodina pitched a complete game, 4-hit shutout striking out seven and his catcher Owen Estabrook snapped a scoreless game with a two-run opposite field home run in the fifth inning.

It was Estabrook's team-leading third home run of the season.

Hodina will play next year at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon while Estabrook is headed to the Ivy League at Columbia University.

The Royals defense made several sparkling plays in the field including a diving catch by Steven Bradley in the sixth inning to take away extra bases.

The visiting Warriors got a huge effort on the mound from Dylan Volantis who struck out 11 batters in the loss.

San Marcos has had a dominant postseason run behind the outstanding pitching of Hodina, UCSB-commit Cole Schoenwetter and Darren Orlando.

The Royals have won back-to-back playoff games by 2-0 scores and have allowed just 3 total runs in four postseason games.

Schoenwetter will start the CIF-SS Division 3 game against Aliso Niguel who blanked Yorba Linda 1-0 to advance to the finals.