IRVINE — The Servite and Notre Dame baseball teams each had scoring opportunities on loaded bases in the sixth inning of the National Classic semifinals Thursday.
Notre Dame got the clutch shot it needed in the sixth to beat Servite 4-2 at Irvine Valley College and advance to the championship game.
The Knights will face El Dorado in the tournament championship game at 3:30 p.m. Friday at El Dorado High.
The Friars led 2-1 in the sixth inning when they loaded the bases via a James Clark single, a walk to Thomas Cernius and Jaden Liu being hit by a pitch.
Luke Wilson was hit by a pitch to tie the game.
Servite was unable to capitalize further and Notre Dame pitcher Nick Ladanza got a strikeout and a soft groundout to end the inning with the score tied.
“We had our opportunities and at some point you have to succeed with the bases loaded,” Servites coach Shawn Gilbert said. “That’s kind of been our MO for the last month, it doesn’t happen when we need a big hit.”
Notre Dame loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs. Dominic Cadiz got the game going with a single to center field to give the Knights a 3-2 lead.
An errant throw on a takedown attempt allowed another run to be scored and extended the lead to 4-2.
Notre Dame’s Logan Berenson pitched a perfect seventh inning to earn the save.
Entering the contest, Notre Dame starting pitcher Juju Diaz-Jones had not allowed a run in 18 2/3 innings this season.
Diaz-Jones pitched four shutout innings before allowing an unearned run in the fifth. Tyler Thorsteinson drove in a point to tie the game at 1-1.
“He did a good job mixing it up and the fastball was probably a little more than we expected,” Gilbert said of Diaz-Jones.
Notre Dame took the lead in the fifth inning with a controversial play at the plate. With the bases loaded, John Trainer hit a ground ball to third base and the Servite third baseman threw a pitch to bring the force out at home plate.
The umpire called the runner safe, causing Gilbert to come out of the dugout to discuss the call.
“I was a little excited at the time and I don’t remember exactly what he said,” Gilbert said. “It was something that kept the catcher off the plate. I explained that he was at home plate and was knocked down once he got the ball.
“I think the referee was wrong, but that didn’t define the match. What defined the game was the bases loaded and us not getting anything when we needed it.
Talan Larson pitched well for Servite with one earned run allowed in five innings.
Cadiz went 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Levi Sterling and Jacob Madrid each had two hits for the Knights.
Servite will hope to finish the tournament with a winning record by beating Gahr on Friday.
“The goal was obviously to make it to the championship, but the goal was also to play better baseball across the board,” Gilbert said. “At the end of the week, if you come away 3-1, that’s not a bad thing.”
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