Correction: El Toro Gets a Title; Tesoro Gets Some Help

(Corrections: Original story stated that El Toro pitcher Garrett Mundell had one loss this season. In fact, he is undefeated at 9-0. It also said, because of an editing error, that the Chargers had won the Sea View League; they won the South Coast title.)

El Toro squandered a chance to wrap up the South Coast League title at home against Tesoro on Tuesday afternoon with junior standout Tyler Brashears on the mound. Brashears was dominant as usual, tossing a complete game, but the Chargers lost, 2-1, setting up Thursday’s championship showdown at Tesoro High.

As usual, El Toro had another ace up its sleeve.

Senior right-hander Garrett Mundell mowed down the Titans lineup in his biggest start of the season. The Fresno State signee threw a five-hitter to lead the Chargers to a 4-1 victory, halting Tesoro’s seven-game win streak and earning El Toro the league trophy on the final day of the regular season.

The Titans (18-13, 7-5 in league) owned a 4-8 record when April arrived. Only two weeks ago, they were 4-4 against league  competition and the playoffs remained a long shot. But, after winning 13 of the past 15 games, Tesoro had an opportunity to claim its first South Coast crown on Thursday afternoon with a win over the visiting Chargers (24-7, 9-3).

Considering that the cumulative scoring output from their first two meeting this spring, both Tesoro wins, was only eight runs, a low-scoring affair was destined to ensue. Both Mundell and Titans starter Evan Cook cruised through the opening three innings and the teams entered the fourth scoreless.

El Toro outfielder Ryan Joyce made his first major impact of the game when he led off the fourth with a walk. After advancing to third base on an infield error, Joyce scored the first run of the contest when right fielder Logan Roberts slapped a single to center field.

The Titans wasted no time responding against Mundell. Outfielder Tanner Donnels lined a one-out single into center field. After advancing to second base on a Kevin Co groundout, Donnels tied the score at 1-1 when he scored on a two-base throwing error.

While each club capitalized on mistakes by their counterparts, the Chargers needed to rely only on their bats in the fifth inning. First baseman Dan James opened the frame with a single to center, which was followed by a seven-pitch walk to Matt Chapman. Cook was pulled from the game after the walk, giving way to senior reliever A.J. Pipitone.

Joyce then came to the plate and appeared to be set to advance the runners with a bunt. However, after taking the first pitch for a ball, Joyce punished Pipitone’s 1-0 offering, launching a three-run shot over the left-field fence to give El Toro a 4-1 advantage.

“That was a huge swing for Ryan,” Chargers coach Mike Gonzales said. “I told these guys on Tuesday that somebody was going to be a hero, either for us or [Tesoro]. What a way to got out as a senior.”

Tesoro, trailing by three runs with three innings to work with, faced the task of staging a rally against Mundell, who is 9-0 with a sub-2.00 earned-run average.

“We knew Mundell was going to be tough,” Titans coach Rick Brail said. “He throws a lot of strikes and it was a matter of staying aggressive and trying to keep the ball out of the air.”

Tesoro hitters were certainly aggressive but simply couldn’t keep themselves from popping the ball upward. Of the 21 outs recorded by Mundell, 13 were through the air. Though he struck out only two batters, the senior’s accuracy was impeccable.

“He was aggressive in the zone and had good command of his fast ball,” Gonzales said. “The key is that he was able to keep the ball down."

Mundell rode the newfound three-run lead over the final three innings, when he faced only two batters over the minimum to cap off his 95-pitch gem. Tesoro handed Brashears only his second loss of the season on Tuesday - both came against the Titans - but fell short against the Chargers' alternate ace.

“El Toro probably has the deepest pitching staff in Orange County,” Brail said. “You’ve got to play a perfect game to match them and beat them. Today, we just didn’t quite have it.”

Although Tesoro’s improbable run for a South Coast title has ended unfulfilled, the Titans did lock down the league’s third automatic postseason berth on Thursday when Capistrano Valley lost, 5-1, to San Clemente, a team that hadn’t won a league game all spring.

The Titans' tremendous in-season turnaround sends them to a first-round CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoff matchup, which will be announced Monday.

“You get judged on how you finish, not how you start,” Brail said. “Our guys finished strong and I’m proud of that. We’re not done yet and we’ll continue competing in the playoffs.”

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