Lakewood Ushers Tesoro Out of Baseball Playoffs

Sometimes all you can do is tip your cap to the other dugout.

It was that kind of day for the Tesoro baseball team at home on Tuesday, as visiting Lakewood put on a pitching and hitting clinic for much of seven frames and walked away with a CIF Southern Section Division 1 second round playoff victory, 8-0.

Lancers starting pitcher Nick Torres hadn't pitched many innings heading into the contest, so the scouting report on the crafty right-hander was nonexistent. Using an effective combination of off-speed junk and great location on his fastball low in the zone, Torres baffled all but one Tesoro batter, allowing only two hits and striking out two over six innings of work.

Only senior designated hitter Scott Hahn touched up Torres, going 2-for-3 with a pair of solid line-drive singles and a shot to the right-center gap in the bottom of the second that Lakewood's rangy outfield managed to track down.

Other than that, it was lights out for Torres, who kept the Titans guessing, leaning, reaching and -- more often than not -- popping up or flying out. Tesoro didn't hit a ball on the ground until the third inning and they didn't get a hit until Hahn's second at-bat with one out in the fourth.

"My slider was working," Torres said. "And as the game went on, I was able to settle down and throw my fastball for strikes."

The pressure was off Torres right from the start as he benefited from four runs before he ever toed the rubber.

After Jonthan Pasillas set the tone for Lakewood with a leadoff single, Torres, Zach Alofaituli and Jake Worrell -- Lakewood's three, four and five hitters -- all collected RBI knocks, with Worrell providing the big blast, a two-run double to the fence in center to make it 4-0 before the national anthem had stopped echoing off the canyon walls.

"Lakewood played a near perfect game and their guys did great," Tesoro coach Rick Brail said. "They jumped out early and we couldn't catch up. We didn't have an answer for them today. All the credit goes to them."

After starting in Tesoro's first-round win over Westlake last Friday, Kagan Richardson got the call to start again Tuesday, but he struggled from the start, lasting only two innings and allowing six runs on nine hits with one strikeout.

After Alofaituli and Worrell smacked doubles in the first, JP Yakel led off the second with another double, and by the time JP Crawford drove home Tyler Leidholt with the Lancers' fourth double four batters later, it was 6-0, and the writing was on the wall.

"[Richardson] only threw 80 pitches [against Westlake], and he's had a rubber arm," Brail said of the decision to start Richardson on three day's rest. "He's been our best pitcher down the stretch here, and I thought he gave us our best chance to win. His last 10 starts have all been quality starts. Unfortunately, he didn't have it today, but Lakewood hit some good pitches too."

Indeed. The way the Lancers played, not many hurlers stood a chance to get in their way, as Lakewood ran its impressive overall record to 28-4-1.

For the Titans, meanwhile, it was a bitter end to a roller-coaster season that ended on a high note, despite Tuesday's loss.

"We never judge a season by one game, and we never will," Brail said. "The body of work that we had -- we went 14-4 over our last 18, and had a shot to win a league title. We never gave up after a slow start, playing, working hard, and coming together. It really was a special group [of seniors], and that will be their legacy."

Junior southpaw Evan Cook relieved Richardson in the third and tossed three innings of two-hit ball, allowing one earned run and striking out one before handing off to senior Brandon Bentley, who worked a scoreless seventh.

The Titans, whose roster included 12 seniors and six senior starters, finished the season at 19-14 overall.

Lakewood will play top-seeded Edison in the section quarterfinals on May 27.