San Diego, California (Tecolote) turned an early comeback into a dominating performance against Torrance, California (TABB) in the 2019 Mustang-9 World Series, taking the game 18-4.
After winning the 5:00 game, Torrance was set up for a second game on the day and they came out to play early. Derek Swartz put Tecolote on the board with a double to left field with two outs in the first inning. TABB, still rolling from their 8-1 victory over Deer Park, Texas, came to the plate ready to go. Rintaro Igarashi started things off with an RBI single to left field. Igarashi then rounded the bases, scoring on a throwing error at third base before Kyler Jung scored on the same play just moments later for a 3-1 lead after the first inning.
San Diego was shut down at the plate in the next inning, and Torrance was able to add one more run via a Blake Ely shot to left field. However, from the third inning on, San Diego was able to not only mount a comeback, but they put the game out of reach in a hurry. Nico Derkash started things off with an RBI double to left field before scoring on an error to cut the deficit to one run. Tecolote took the lead when Derek Swartz was able to take advantage of a wild pitch before Asher McDonald earned an RBI on a ground out for a 5-4 lead. Steven Haskett was able to score on an error as well to give Tecolote a 6-4 lead after three innings.
After shutting out TABB for the first time all game in the third inning, San Diego added four runs in the fourth inning. Derkash doubled to bring in Cole Miller before an error allowed Swartz to score. Keith Clark took advantage of another error to give Tecolote a 10-4 lead at the end of the inning.
In the fifth inning, San Diego was able to add another eight runs on six hits. Owen Garcia was able to score on an error before Derek Swartz hit an inside the park home run scoring two for a 13-4 lead. Nolan Browne’s double brought in another two runs before an error and a triple from Garcia brought in two more. Garcia rounded the bases and scored on a passed ball for the 18-4 victory.
Derek Swartz, Nico Derkash, Owen Garcia, Cole Miller, and Keith Clark finished with two hits each for Tecolote. Nolan Browne, Clark, Swartz, and Derkash each finished with two RBIs, and Clark pitched a full five innings, allowing five hits and recording one strike out. Blake Ely finished 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI for Torrance. Shota Nakamura finished the day with two strikeouts on the mound, allowing five hits.
With the win, San Diego reaches the championship game of the 2019 Mustang-9 World Series and will play either Long Beach, California or Guasave, Mexico. Torrance’s run in the tournament comes to an end and they leave with a 2-2 record.