Oxford Academy team poses for a photo after defeating South El Monte 5-4 at the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
LAKE ELSINORE – Anything that could go wrong did go wrong for Oxford Academy’s baseball team in the top of the seventh inning.
Anything that could go right did go right for Oxford Academy in the bottom half of the seventh inning.
Oxford Academy lost its slim lead in the top of the seventh before scoring three runs on no hits in the bottom half of the inning to beat South El Monte 5-4 in the CIF Southern Section Division 7 championship game Friday at Lake Elsinore Diamond Stadium.
Oxford Academy’s Sorataro Suzuki celebrates after reaching second base during the fifth inning against South El Monte at the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Oxford Academy’s Sorataro Suzuki and Elijah Spessert celebrate with Mariano Lopez (bottom) after defeating South El Monte 5-4 at the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Oxford Academy’s Elijah Spessert, Mac Tiettmeyer, and Hy Tran celebrate after defeating South El Monte 5-4 during the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Oxford Academy’s Amber Houston, head coach Cory Williams and David Clifton pose for a photo with the plaque after winning the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game against South El Monte at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
South El Monte’s Ryan Leon collides with Oxford Academy’s Elijah Spessert as he tries to steal second base during the sixth inning at the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Oxford Academy’s Carter Senglaub starts pitching against South El Monte during the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
South El Monte’s Ryan Leon slides on home plate against Oxford Academy’s Joshua Loya during the fifth inning at the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Oxford Academy’s Elijah Spessert aims to tag South El Monte’s Xavier Cordova during the fifth inning at the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
South El Monte’s Andrew Medina starts pitching against Oxford Academy during the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
South El Monte’s Emiliano Gonzalez aims to catch the ball at second base during the second inning at the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game against Oxford Academy at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Oxford Academy team celebrates after defeating South El Monte 5-4 at the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
South El Monte’s Ryan Leon celebrates after scoring against Oxford Academy during the fifth inning at the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
South El Monte’s Head Coach Michael Gonzales gives instructions to Matthew Medina during the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game against Oxford Academy at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Oxford Academy team poses for a photo after defeating South El Monte 5-4 at the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
South El Monte fans cheer during the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game against Oxford Academy at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Oxford Academy’s Elijah Spessert aims to catch the ball as South El Monte’s Ryan Leon tries to steal second base during the sixth inning at the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
South El Monte players cheer during the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game against Oxford Academy at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Oxford Academy pitcher Carter Senglaub is upset after being removed from the game during the seventh inning of the CIF-SS Division 7 baseball championship game against South El Monte at Diamond Stadium in Lake Elsinore on Friday May 17, 2024. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
Oxford Academy players and coaches celebrate their win in the CIF Southern Section Division 7 championship baseball game Saturday at Lake Elsinore Diamond Stadium. From left to right: head coach Cory Williams, players Josh Loya and Ethan Loya and assistant coaches Greg Senglaub and Casey Williams. (Photo by Steve Fryer, The Orange County Register/SCNG)
It is the third CIF-SS baseball championship for Oxford Academy, a public school in Cypress with an enrollment of 832. The Patriots won section baseball titles in 2009 and ‘10. It was South El Monte’s first baseball finals game.
Oxford Academy (18-14-1) and South El Monte (22-7) will move on to play in the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs that begin May 28.
The game was scoreless until South El Monte scored a run in the top of the fifth inning.
Oxford Academy scored twice in the bottom of the fifth. Joseph Han hit a one-out single. Sorataro Suzuki followed with an opposite-field double to right field to put Han on third base. Josh Loya sent an opposite-field single to right to drive in Han and Suzuki to give the Patriots a 2-1 lead.
South El Monte scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning with plenty of assistance from Oxford Academy, including a throwing error that brought in one run, a hit-by-pitch, a bases-loaded walk and a bases-loaded balk that put the Eagles on top 4-2.
The Patriots’ half of the seventh started when Elijah Spessert walked. Loya was hit by a pitch and so was Logan Lavoie to load the bases. Mac Tiettmeyer walked to send in Spessert to make it 4-3.
Loya scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 4-4, with Tiettmeyer going to second base on the play.
Mariano Lopez hit a ground ball to Eagles shortstop Andrew Medina who tossed to second baseman Aidan Luna for the out at second, and Luna’s throw to first in an effort to get an inning-ending double play was wide left, enabling Tiettmeyer to score from second base without a throw for the winning run.
“In the past few years we would have lost these close ones,” said Oxford Academy senior starting pitcher Carter Senglaub, who allowed three earned runs in 6⅓ innings. “Being in so many of these kinds of games made us mentally tougher and ready to handle these big moments.”
The first inning was wild, too. South El Monte’s Armando Huizar led off the top of the inning with a single. Andrew Medina followed with a line drive down the left-field line. Huizar tried to score on the play but was out on Ethan Loya’s throw to third baseman Suziuki, who gunned it to catcher Joseph Loya for the inning’s second out at the plate. Medina move to second base on the play.
The third out came on the hidden ball trick, with Oxford Academy shortstop Spessert tagging out Medina when Medina started his lead off.
Oxford Academy had three base runners in the bottom of the first but did not score. Han was thrown out at the plate for the inning’s second out on a double-steal attempt.
Josh Loya said the Patriots “mentally collapsed” during the top of the seventh but still believed his team could still win the game.
“I had faith in my team and teammates,” Loya said. “I knew we were going to come back.”
Leave a Reply