Mira Costa baseball defeats rival Redondo Union in Division 3 playoffs
REDONDO BEACH - The fourth time proved to be the charm for the Mira Costa baseball team.
During the regular season, Mira Costa lost all three meetings against rival Redondo Union in Bay League play.
The thing about baseball is that there is always another day, and in the case of the Mustangs, there was a fourth meeting Tuesday in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs.
This time, the Mustangs left with a victory. A bases-clearing double by Kellan Finn was part of a five-run sixth inning that pushed Mira Costa to a 6-3 win.
"For whatever reason, (we) haven't played real good against these guys," Mira Costa coach Andy Diver said of Redondo Union. "Whether it be a couple of errors or not quality at-bats or not getting it done on the mound. For whatever reason, they kind of had our number during the Bay League."
That changed Tuesday in the playoffs. After the big inning from their bats, the Mustangs (18-12) secured the win with some tough pitching.
"We've had moments this year, we haven't played real good, but these guys show up every day, work hard and they're gutsy and they're gritty and today, they showed that," Diver said. "It's tough to come back and play your rival in round two. They're (Redondo) a good club, well-coached. It's a tough ask. We battled, we weathered that storm in the fourth and came back with a five-spot in the sixth …Gutty, gritty."
Top-seeded Mira Costa will be on the road against Dos Pueblos in the quarterfinals Friday.
Redondo took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning. The first two batters reached against Mira Costa starter Grayson Thomas and later, against relief pitcher Emmett Maloney, Redondo pushed across two runs on pinch-hit singles from Sam Schwartz and Jack Green.
The Mustangs' first three batters in the sixth reached based. After a strikeout, Connor Collins walked in a run and Finn followed with a hit down the right-field line that got away from the right-fielder, allowing three runs to score. Later, Ace Tarango delivered an RBI single for a 6-2 Mira Costa lead.
"I got down (in the count) 0-2, had to fight off, that's what I did," Finn said. "I saw it bounce off the wall and knew automatically two (bases) and then I saw the throw and I was thinking three. Feels great. Glad to get the team on top."
In the bottom of the sixth, Redondo tried to rally. Riley Park hit a solo home run and with runners on first and third with two out, Caden Ceman ended the inning with a diving catch in left field to end the inning.
Collins, who took over on the mound for Mira Costa in the sixth, had a quiet seventh inning, preserving the win.
"Today we flipped the script and played good baseball today," Diver said. "Tremendous effort by these guys to get to where we're at. I mean, high school baseball in the playoffs is hard because everybody can pitch, everyone's playing with emotion. There's good players on every team and so for these guys to scrap back and get a win on Friday (in the first round) against a good club and then come out today and beat a good club and now onto the quarters."
Jandon Rosadini allowed a run in the first inning on Carter Rivera's RBI single, but held Mira Costa offense in check until the sixth inning. He was replaced after the first two batters reached and by the time the two relief pitchers recorded the three outs, Mira Costa had sent 10 batters to the plate and turned the game around.
"I think we just beat ourselves (in the first three games)," Finn said of playing Redondo. "Just the little things got away from us. Like we always say, little things add up to big things, but beat them today, that's what matters."
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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 8:22 PM.