For senior JuJu Haim, it’s part of baseball lore in the City Section to dream of getting the game-winning hit to send your team to Dodger Stadium.
It happened on a scorching Tuesday at Cal State Northridge, where El Camino Real rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Birmingham 4-3 to earn a spot in Saturday’s City Section Open Division championship game at Dodger Stadium.
Haim delivered his walk-off single with one out. Luke Howe had tied the score with his own clutch RBI single.
Birmingham had been leading much of the game after taking a 3-2 lead in the third inning on an RBI double by Isaac Monterrubio and a wild pitch. Freshman pitcher Carlos Acuna kept escaping jams with clutch pitches. There was a strikeout with the bases loaded in the fourth and a double play in the third.
Coach Matt Mowry went with senior Allen Olmos in the fifth and he appeared ready to send the Patriots to Dodger Stadium after striking out the side in the sixth. But Jackson Sellz reached on a hit batter to start the seventh. After a sacrifice, Howe singled to tie the score, Troy Shaw singled and Haim ended it with a joyous victory celebration on the field.
“It’s the best feeling,” Haim said. “I’m excited already.”
“We lived dangerously all day,” Birmingham coach Matt Mowry said. “We got out of some tough jams but couldn’t do it one more time.”
El Camino Real has been considered the best team in the City because of its one-two pitching duo. Howe didn’t have his best stuff but he still struck out seven with no walks over six innings. Devin Gonor struck out two in an inning of relief. Both should be ready to go in Saturday’s 1 p.m. game against either Venice or Sylmar.
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