Baseball wins dramatic championship!

The CIF Championship is the first for the baseball program since 1980. It is the first Open Division Championship in Patriot Athletics history. It is the first Baseball Open Division Championship in SDUSD history.

Author: John Maffei

For original article: San Diego Union-Tribune

Photos courtesy: @_ajkmedia (follow on instagram)

In a game worthy of the finest chess matches, Patrick Henry High School coach Sheldon Watkins and Ramon Orozco of Eastlake traded moves for seven innings — bunting, stealing and walking hitters intentionally.

In the end, the best-laid plans blew up.

Henry scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning, then saw an Eastlake baserunning error lead to the final out as the Patriots clawed back and beat the Titans 7-6 late Saturday night in the CIF San Diego Section Open Division championship before a standing-room-only crowd of more than 2,100 at USD’s Fowler Park.

Trailing 6-3 in the top of the seventh, Henry scored four times on three hits and three walks with Alex Mestman and Lukas Oquendo getting clutch, two-out RBI hits to tie the game.

Jimmy Gunn had an infield single to load the bases before Ian Brooke drew a four-pitch walk to push across the go-ahead run.

“I was trying to see a pitch that was down because they weren’t throwing too many strikes,” Brooke said. “He couldn’t execute, and I won the AB.”

But Henry had to survive the bottom of the seventh.

Caleb Foss singled and Ethan Dang sacrificed and was safe on an error.

Ethan Orozco sacrificed the runners to second and third and it appeared Zowen Watson appeared to tie the game with a liner to left field. But the ball was caught and the runner on second strayed off the bag and was doubled off to end it.

“I’ve been playing with these guys most of my life, and it’s a brotherhood,” Brooke said. “Even when times are low, we come together and never give up. We’ve got great coaching and a great student section supporting us. And now we’re going to state.”

Both teams in the Open Division championship game, in addition to semifinalists Cathedral Catholic and Point Loma, advance to the Southern California Regionals.

Henry figures to get a home game.

Henry broke on top in the first inning when Oquendo walked and scored on Brooke’s single.

Eastlake got even in the second when JP Conero singled and scored on Orozco’s single.

Henry took the lead back in the fourth when Wyatt Lo doubled with one out and scored on Sal Gagliano’s double. Gagliano scored on Mestman’s infield single, with Mestman later thrown out trying to score.

The Patriots (24-9) had a chance to add on, but left the bases loaded in the fifth. They also left two on in the sixth and the bases loaded in the seventh, stranding 11 runners in all.

Eastlake (24-7) left eight runners on base.

This was Eastlake’s sixth appearance in the Open Division title game in 12 years, winning it all in 2017, 2019 and 2021. Henry lost 3-0 to Granite Hills in the Open Division championship game last season.