BELLFLOWER — The St. John Bosco baseball team jumped out to an early three-run lead and received clutch hitting and timely pitching from a trio of seniors for a 5-3 win at home against Corona del Mar in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs Tuesday.
Bosco senior left fielder Owen Tomich went 3 for 3 with two RBIs.
“It felt good,” Tomich said, who drove in a run in the first and third innings. “A big part of that is having confidence, going in the box telling yourself you’re a hard out, you’re not going to get out and being aggressive. Not hitting their pitch but your pitch, that will set you apart.”
St. John Bosco’s Owen Stelzer reacts after leading off the second inning with a double against Corona del Mar in a CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff game on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
St. John Bosco starting pitcher Anthony Cosme is pumped after striking out the final two batters in the sixth inning in the Braves’ 5-3 win over Corona del Mar in a CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff game on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
St. John Bosco starting pitcher Anthony Cosme helped lead the Braves to a 5-3 win over Corona del Mar in a CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff game on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
St. John Bosco starting pitcher Anthony Cosme delivers a pitch in the Braves’ 5-3 win over Corona del Mar in a CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff game on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
St. John Bosco starting pitcher Anthony Cosme is pumped after striking out the final two batters in the sixth inning in the Braves’ 5-3 win over Corona del Mar in a CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff game on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Corona del Mar left fielder Jackson McDonald scores in the third inning in CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff action against St. John Bosco on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Corona del Mar players celebrate after scoring a run in the fifth inning but the Sea Kings fell to St. John Bosco 5-3 in CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff action on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
St. John Bosco’s Jaden Jackson steals second base ahead of the tag by Corona Del Mar shortstop Vincent Menard in the fourth inning in a CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff game on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Corona Del Mar’s Brady Gadol bats in the first inning in CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff action against St. John Bosco on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Corona del Mar reliever Brady Andrews hurls a pitch in CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff action against St. John Bosco on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Corona del Mar starter Stevie Jones delivers a pitch in CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff action against St. John Bosco on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Corona del Mar second baseman Ganon Overfelt awaits a throw to nail a sliding Moises Razo of St. John Bosco on a steal attempt in the sixth inning in CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff action on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
St. John Bosco reliever Julian Garcia reacts on his way to picking up the save in the Braves’ 5-3 win over Corona del Mar in a CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff game on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
United with blonde hair for the playoffs, St. John Bosco players are having fun after defeating Corona del Mar in CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff action on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Sporting blonde hair for the playoffs, St. John Bosco players look on from the dugout during playoff action against Corona del Mar on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
St. John Bosco starting pitcher Anthony Cosme picks up the victory in his team’s 5-3 win over Corona del Mar in a CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff game on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
St. John Bosco players show their blonde coifs after removing their caps for the national anthem prior to CIF-SS Division 3 second round playoff action against Corona del Mar on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
Senior center fielder Julian Villaseñor went 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Senior starting pitcher Anthony Cosme went six innings and allowed four hits, three runs and had nine strikeouts.
“It’s all about survival right now,” St. John Bosco coach Andy Rojo said. “You want to end on a winning streak because that’s the only way your season will continue.”
St. John Bosco (18-10) will host El Segundo in the Division 3 quarterfinals Friday at 3:15 p.m.
The Braves, who won their first playoff game since 2017 with a 14-0 victory at Grace last week, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on consecutive RBI singles by junior catcher Micah Taguiam, Tomich and Villaseñor.
“It’s been a dream this year,” Villaseñor said. “We’ve battled. We’ve put up some fights and I feel like we all trust each other and we’ve all got each other’s backs so it’s looking really good right now.”
Corona del Mar (19-10) was led by first baseman Carter Danz, who hit a two-out, two-RBI single to cut Bosco’s lead to 3-2 in the top of the third inning.
“We talk about fight back and that’s what our kids did,” Corona del Mar coach Kevin McCaffrey said. “They took a punch in the first and the second inning we fought back that was pretty cool for us to do.”
In the bottom of the third, Tomich and Villaseñor once again delivered back-to-back RBI singles that scored senior first basemen Zach Woodson and Taguiam, giving Bosco a 5-2 lead.
“Both those guys really reflective of what the entire lineup did, which was crowd the plate a little bit, move up in the box a little bit, take away the off-speed action,” Rojo said. “Guys have the tendency of always getting back in the box and they get themselves out so they stuck to the game plan, it became infectious with the entire lineup.”
“I think it took us staying locked in in practice and focusing on the little things one day at a time and not jumping too far ahead of what’s to come,” Tomich added.
Corona del Mar junior center fielder Brady Gadol’s RBI single cut the Braves’ lead to 5-3 in the top of the fifth inning.
The Wave League champions had a chance to tie the game in the seventh inning with runners on first and second.
However, Bosco sophomore relief pitcher Julian Garcia settled in and threw a scoreless seventh inning to close the game.
“Obviously, I’m really proud of the guys,” McCaffrey said. “Didn’t get off to a great start with that first and second inning, our guys could have folded and they didn’t.
“They chose to fight back to make it a game. We hit the ball on the nose countless times and unfortunately …we hit it right at them. I’m really proud of the pressure they put on and we were right there in the end. We had a chance in the sixth and seventh to tie it, take a lead. Again, can’t say enough about this group, pretty special group.”
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