Warriors miss CIF baseball final by one game

After Fallbrook High School's baseball team won its first two CIF playoff games, the Warriors needed only one win in the double-elimination tournament to reach the Division III final. Two losses, both to a Del Norte team the Warriors defeated in the second playoff contest, ended Fallbrook's season one game short of the CIF championship match.

"We were on a good roll," said Fallbrook coach Patrick Walker.

The first of those two losses to Del Norte ended an eight-game win streak for the Warriors, which was the longest for the program since Fallbrook won 15 consecutive games in 2005 including the Warriors' playoff opener that year. Fallbrook's final season record for 2015 was 22-11, including the 2-2 playoff record and an 11-4 performance in Valley League competition which was worth second place in the final season standings.

Three of those league wins were against Valley Center. The Warriors were seeded second in the Division III playoffs while the Jaguars received the 10th seed. The top four seeds advanced directly to the double-elimination portion of the playoffs while Valley Center had a May 26 play-in game at Canyon Crest. Valley Center's 1-0 victory over the Ravens moved the Jaguars into the double-elimination segment beginning with the May 27 game at Fallbrook.

"We knew we were going to face them again. They were a pretty talented team," Walker said. "We swept them, but there were a couple of close games in there."

Fallbrook's league wins over Valley Center were by 5-1, 4-3, and 11-1 margins. The teams also played each other in the Lions Tournament 3A Division semifinals; Valley Center was on the winning end of the 5-3 score although the CIF limit on pitchers of 10 innings per week and a 12-inning victory in pool play forced the Warriors to use catcher Cedric Brown on the mound in the Lions Tournament semifinal.

Bryson Spagnuolo pitched the playoff game against Valley Center. The Warriors scored the game's first six runs in the bottom of the second and had an 8-2 lead after four innings. "We preached that," Walker said of the early lead. "It's so important in baseball not to have to chase runs."

Although Spagnuolo is primarily a pitcher, he also homered at the plate against Valley Center as did Brown and Reese Berberet. Spagnuolo and Berberet each drove in three runs, Bryce Olivo led the Warriors with two runs scored, and Birch Anson had three hits in four at-bats.

The Jaguars scored two runs apiece in the fifth and sixth innings to narrow Fallbrook's lead to 8-6. "They really made it a little bit closer at the end," Walker said.

The seventh inning was scoreless to preserve Fallbrook's 8-6 victory. Although Spagnuolo allowed six runs, only three were earned. He allowed six hits and three walks while striking out 10 batters.

The Warriors' victory gave Fallbrook a May 29 home game against Del Norte. "We ended up playing them three times," Walker said.

The three playoff games between the Warriors and Nighthawks gave those two teams five contests against each other during the season. Fallbrook had a 14-4 victory in the Pirate-Falcon Classic tournament while Del Norte was on the winning side of the 11-4 North County Conference Tournament game.

Andy White started the May 29 game for Fallbrook which ended as a 4-3 Warriors victory. "That was a good ballgame," Walker said.

A run in the bottom of the second gave Fallbrook a 1-0 lead. Del Norte scored in the top of the fourth to tie the game, but a run in the bottom of that frame created a 2-1 Fallbrook advantage and a fifth-inning run gave Fallbrook a 3-1 cushion.

The Nighthawks scored twice in the top of the sixth to tie the game. Spagnuolo replaced White to start the seventh inning. Only one of the three runs White allowed was earned, and he allowed two hits and four walks while striking out five opponents. "Andy White threw a great game," Walker said.

Spagnuolo allowed a hit and a walk in the seventh but struck out the other three batters he faced. "That was a great momentum swing, too," Walker said.

A hit in the bottom of the seventh drove in Olivo for the winning run. "That gave us even more momentum," Walker said. "We felt really good."

The seventh inning of the June 2 game at Fallbrook was scoreless, and a Del Norte run in the top of the eighth gave the Nighthawks a 2-1 victory. "That was a tough one," Walker said. "We should have won that game."

The action included a Fallbrook runner being thrown out at the plate. "We had a couple of opportunities to score," Walker said.

A potential play at the plate with the Warriors in the field resulted in a Del Norte run when the throw went over Brown's head. "That was a game we really should have won two to zero," Walker said.

That Nighthawks run in the fourth inning tied the game after the Warriors had scored in the bottom of the third. Spagnuolo pitched all eight innings for Fallbrook, allowing six hits and two walks in addition to the two unearned runs. He struck out eight batters.

A Fallbrook victory would have given the Warriors a berth in the June 5 final. The Del Norte win forced the two teams to play June 3. "We knew we were going to have to come back with Andy White, who didn't have the rest he needed. That hurt us," Walker said.

Del Norte overcame a 2-1 Fallbrook lead for a 9-2 victory. Each team scored once in the first, and Fallbrook scored in the bottom of the third. The Nighthawks scored three times in the fourth, twice in the fifth, and three times in the sixth.

White allowed all nine of those runs, six of which were earned, and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings before he was relieved by Collin Hoff. White had four strikeouts. "He just didn't have his velocity," Walker said.

"That was definitely not the Andy we had all year," Walker said. "He was just a little bit tired."

The playoff wins were still two more than Fallbrook's combined total from 2007 to 2014 when the Warriors failed to reach the post-season in any of those years. "Just a great year. Very, very proud of the kids. They kind of put us back on the map as a team who's going to compete," Walker said.

White, Brown, Berberet, and Anson were Fallbrook's only seniors and the four playoff games also gave Fallbrook's underclassmen playoff experience. "Those sophomores and juniors know what it's like to be in the playoffs," Walker said. "We'll build on that for next year."