Roundup: St. Anthony baseball falls to Big Bear in Division 6 playoffs

St. Anthony was knocked out of the CIF-SS Division 6 baseball playoffs by Big Bear on Tuesday afternoon at Clark Field. Big Bear (18-7) used two huge iings to muscle its way to a 14-7 victory and into the quarterfinals.

“We picked a bad time to not play well,” St. Anthony coach Kris Jondle said. “They took advantage of our mistakes and we didn’t answer enough.”

St. Anthony (21-4) got two quick outs in the top of the third iing, but then five Big Bear hitters reached base in a row to help take a 5-0 lead. Big Bear pounded out 17 hits, including seven from the fifth and sixth hitters in the lineup. Junior Dylan Stephenson went 4 for 5 with a walk and three runs while Kayden Braock went 3 for 5 with three runs and an RBI. Catcher Sam Kent hit a three-run home run in the fifth iing to help put the game away.

“Our defense wasn’t good and if we can’t score enough then we’re in trouble,” Jondle said.

Senior Dominik Goldschmidt was a bright spot in the Saints lineup. He cut the Big Bear lead to one in the bottom of the third iing with a grand slam to right-center field. It was Goldschmidt’s third home run in two games and gave St. Anthony life before Big Bear put up six runs in the fifth. Goldschmidt went 2 for 4 with five RBIs and a run.

“I told my coach that if the pitcher leaves a curveball up in the zone I’m going to hit it,” Goldschmidt said. “Somebody had to step up for our team and I know my role.”

Jacob Woolwine was phenomenal on the mound for Big Bear despite the grand slam. Woolwine scattered seven hits in seven iings and got a little help from his defense.

“(Woolwine) threw his off-speed pitch for a strike and kept us off-balance,” Jondle said.

Senior Nick Holguin went 2 for 4 for St. Anthony with two runs. He also made a few spectacular plays to save runs in the second and fourth iings. St. Anthony junior David Blechinger drove in Goldschmidt in seventh iing with his second hit of the game.

— Paul Slater

ST. JOHN BOSCO 9, WOODBRIDGE 2 >> The Braves (26-7) will face Glendora in Friday’s Division 2 quarterfinal.

FOOTHILL 4, GAHR 1 >> The Knights scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to knock off the Gladiators (15-15) in Division 1.

PALM DESERT 4, LA MIRADA 3 >> The Matadores (24-6) fell to the Aztecs, who scored the wiing run on an error in the bottom of the seventh, in division 2 play.

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