PLACENTIA — Mason Kim’s pinch-hit, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday lifted the El Dorado baseball team to a 7-6, come-from-behind victory over Granada Hills Charter in the quarterfinals of the National Classic at El Dorado High School.
Kim’s hit came with one out and on an 0-2 count. It capped a four-run inning for the Golden Hawks, who trailed by three runs going into their final at-bat.
“I was just looking for anything close,” Kim said. “I knew I was going to get another slider down and low. I saw it coming a little bit outside and I had to drive it the other way and it kind of went to the right side of the center fielder.”
Kim’s hit drove in Diego Gonzalez and Travis Maxwell from second and third, respectively, after they had both singled to drive in runs, setting the stage for Kim.
Jake Vanderzee, who went 2 for 2 with two runs scored, was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Brady Abner followed with a walk.
Maxwell, who went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored, singled home Vanderzee and Gonzalez singled in Abner.
El Dorado (11-8) left runners on base and in scoring position in every inning prior to the seventh.
The Hawks led 2-0 after three but stranded five runners over that stretch combined with two shaky innings in the field that proved costly.
In the fourth, Justin Barnett singled in two runs to tie the score for the Highlanders and then scored the go-ahead run on an error and a wild pitch.
Granada Hills’ Tristian Jennings led off the fifth with a double and then scored on a single from Jackson Lyons to give the Highlanders a 4-2 lead.
Lyons, who went 2 for 4 with an RBI and four stolen bases, then scored on an error to make the score 5-2.
The Hawks scored an unearned fun in the sixth to make the score 5-3, but the Highlanders got that run right back on Easton Hawks’ solo home run in the seventh.
“We didn’t play the cleanest game but they fought,” El Dorado coach Matt Lucas said. “These guys have been on a streak and they’ve been fighting since a 1-0 win against Villa Park a couple weeks ago, so that’s the kind of stuff we want to see with league starting up next week.”
El Dorado is schedule to play Gahr in a National Clasisc semifinal at 12:30 pm Thursday at El Dorado High.
