Starting pitcher, Eli Brown, gave Morro Bay six solid innings on the mound.
Morro Bay High School’s magical baseball season survived the first round of the CIF playoffs, topping a scrappy team from Justin Garza H.S. in Fresno, 5-4 in extra innings.
Morro Bay’s Jack Devolet slides in safe at home, scoring Morro Bay’s fourth run on a wild pitch. That’s Byron Erkenbra, No. 22, who was at bat when the run scored.
The third seeded Pirates advanced to the quarterfinals and set up a match-up at Mission Oak, which defeated Fresno High 4-2 in their first-round game. Mission Oak, 18-8-1 on the season, is ranked sixth in Div. III of CIF Central Section.
Morro Bay improved to 24-5 on the year and was the undefeated, 12-0, Champions of the Ocean League. The quarterfinals game is set for May 21 in Fresno.
Against Garza, the Pirates’ Eli Brown pitched six solid innings and left in the seventh ahead 4-2.
But Garza scraped out two runs in the top of the seventh to notch the score, then held on in the bottom of the inning to force extra innings.
The Pirates’ Jack Deovlet smacked a single to right field to drive in the winning run. Colton Whilt was on the mound in the 9th to record the win.
The Pirates got two hits from Frankie Ainley and one apiece from Quentin Crofts, Deovlet and Joseph Skaggs.
As a team the Pirates knocked nine hits and played error-free defense. They were aided by three wild pitches from the Guardians, at least two of which scored Pirate runs.
The Pirates continued their hot streak and lived to fight another day in what is arguably the best baseball season in school history.
The Pirates, if they get past Mission Oak on the 21st, would face either Hoover or Hanford in the semifinals on May 23. Winning that game would put them in the Central Section Div. III Championship game, scheduled for May 29.
