As hard-throwing Chad Gurnea of Garden Grove Pacifica walked in from the bullpen in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s Empire League showdown with Cypress, the walk-up song from Metallica deployed for Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera, “Enter Sandman,” was blaring from the P.A. system.
Normally a starter, Gurnea was part of a bold strategy coach Mike Caira decided to use: Play as if it were the playoffs. So Caira put unbeaten Logan Brady on the mound to start the game and brought in Gurnea to close. Forget that there would be another game against Cypress on Thursday.
Gurnea struck out five in three scoreless innings of relief to help Pacifica come away with a 4-2 victory and clinch at least a share of the Empire League championship. Pacifica (21-2, 9-0) and Cypress (20-7, 8-1) will do it all over again Thursday.
Gurnea and Brady embraced soon after Gurnea got a fly out to end the game. Who’s available to pitch Thursday remains to be seen.
“All hands on deck,” Caira told his team afterward. “Believe in the plan.”
Aiden Marquez had three hits for Pacifica and delivered a key RBI double in the fourth to break a 2-2 deadlock.
Gurnea now has 90 strikeouts this season.
“Very confident,” Marquez said when asked how he was feeling when Gurnea was brought in out of the bullpen.
The pitching plans for Cypress were uncertain, because two starting pitchers were unavailable because of injuries, forcing closer Matthew Morrell to start. He started losing control of his fastball, and Pacifica took advantage. Both teams are headed to the Division 1 playoffs next week.
Harvard-Westlake 5, Crespi 0: The Wolverines won their 12th consecutive game and wrapped up second place in the Mission League. Thomas Bridges pitched a shutout and struck out 12.
Chaminade 13, Loyola 5: Vincent Van der Wel went five for five with a home run and four RBIs for Chaminade.
Sierra Canyon 7, Bishop Alemany 0: Caden Sramek and Jonny Hagopian combined for the shutout. Kehden Hettiger had a home run, double and three RBIs.
La Mirada 4, Gahr 3: The Matadores clinched at least a share of the Gateway League title. Eric Jeon struck out seven in six innings. Travis Friend had a triple and double.
Narbonne 10, Rancho Dominguez 0: Owen Martin had three hits and three RBIs for Narbonne.
Edison 2, Laguna Beach 1: Tyler Eastham struck out three and gave up five hits in six innings. Brandon Winokur struck out the side in the seventh to get the save.
Mira Costa 2, Redondo Union 1: Truman Polich had the walk-off single in the seventh for Mira Costa.
Ayala 11, Glendora 2: Ethan Nunez hit a grand slam to lead Ayala.
Bonita 6, Colony 3: Garrett Patterson had two hits and three RBIs and Justin Santiago remained unbeaten on the mound for Bonita.
Quartz Hill 5, Highland 1: Ismael Quintero struck out 11 and Esteban Sepulvada contributed four hits to help Quartz Hill clinch at least a share of the Golden League championship.
Castaic 1, West Ranch 0: Kyler Freude threw the shutout in the Foothill League win for Castaic.
Valencia 11, Hart 1: Ricardo Ojeda struck out five in a complete game and Lance Mittelman had three hits for Valencia.
Tesoro 2, Capistrano Valley 1: The Titans scored the winning run in the ninth off a bunt and error. Jake Lambdein struck out five in three innings of relief. Owen Geiss threw a complete game, giving up five hits for Capistrano Valley.
Corona Centennial 2, Corona 1: Aiden Simpson broke a 1-1 tie with an RBI double in the seventh for Centennial. Danny Retzlaff threw a complete game to help the Huskies pull within a game of first-place Corona in the Big VIII League standings.
Norco 4, Roosevelt 0: Jason Arriola had two hits and two RBIs for Norco.
Corona Santiago 9, King 5: Jesse Kneip had a home run and three RBIs and also threw four innings for Santiago.
Huntington Beach 11, Los Alamitos 1: Carson Lane struck out five in 4 2/3 innings and Aidan Espinoza had a home run and single for Huntington Beach.
Softball
Norco 22, Roosevelt 13: Alyssa Hovermale went four for four with two home runs and eight RBIs for Norco
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