Kaiser baseball team holds off Irvine, advances to Division 5 championship game
FONTANA - When the Kaiser baseball team jumped out to an early three-run lead Tuesday over Irvine, it bucked a trend that saw almost all of the teams' combined playoff games being tight.
But the game returned to form as Kaiser didn't extend the lead and Irvine rallied.
But in the end, quarterfinal hero Zeke Cortez retired all six batters he faced in relief and host Kaiser won 3-2 in a CIF Southern Section Division 5 semifinal.
Kaiser (19-13) advances to the CIF-SS championship game for the second time in school history where they will play Culver City on Friday or Saturday at a site and time to be announced. The Cats' other championship game appearance was a loss to Laguna Beach in the Division 4 final in 2016.
"We're going to enjoy this one," Kaiser coach Mike Spinuzzi said.
After scoring two runs in the first inning and one in the second, Kaiser led 3-0 until the sixth inning when the Vaqueros (17-14) rallied.
Owen Song and Smith Spivey hit back-to-back ground ball singles to start the inning against Kaiser starter Gabriel Martinez, Irvine's first baserunners since the second inning. That prompted Spinuzzi to go to the bullpen.
He first brought in senior Dom Roybal to pitch to Nico Macalino. On a 3-2 pitch, Roybal walked Macalino as the runners were off with the pitch. Even though it was a walk, Kaiser catcher Alex Alvarado lost track of the count and threw to third, thinking he could throw out Song.
But the ball sailed into left field, allowing Irvine to score its first run and putting runners on second and third with nobody out.
With the tying runs now in scoring position, Spinuzzi went back to the bullpen and brought in Cortez, who on Friday pitched a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts against Santa Barbara.
"At 3-0, I didn't want to (bring in Cortez)," Spinuzzi said. "(But) when you're that close to go to a CIF championship, you have to bring the big dog in."
Cortez struck out Roshan Patel, but then Irvine made it 3-2 when Ethan Kim grounded out to shortstop and plated a run. With the tying run now on third, Cortez got Cole Riedel to ground out to first to keep it 3-2.
In the seventh, Cortez retired the Vaqueros in order.
"I definitely felt better Friday," Cortez said. "(But) it's all mental. You just have to try your best and keep going. You always have to have a good mentality and be ready to go."
It was the third time in four games Kaiser won a playoff game by a single run. All four of the Vaqueros' playoff games have been decided by one or two runs. The closeness of the game didn't surprise Irvine coach Gabriel Cota.
"They've been great on the bump. Our kid's been great on the bump," Cota said. "We did a couple of uncharacteristic things on the field that we haven't done, like misplayed a ball in center and at third. I can't be more proud of our guys competing to the end."
The Cats got off to a quick start, as Alberto Arteaga's two-run double (the misplay Cota was referring to) made it 2-0 in the first.
In the second, Caleb Inzunza led off with a double and went to third on a wild pitch. With the infield in, Jaidyn Brooks hit a hard grounder on which third baseman Jack Dressendorfer couldn't make a play, allowing Inzunza to score to make it 3-0.
Not wanting to let the game get out of hand, Cota pulled starting pitcher Matthew Sandoval in favor of Jason Alderson.
Alderson kept the Vaqueros in the game by pitching four shutout innings, allowing one hit, two walks while striking out five.
Before the sixth inning, Irvine had only one good scoring chance, in the second inning when they had runners on first and second with one out. With two out, Brody LaGrass singled to left, but it was hit too hard for Macalino to score from second. Caleb Rogers hit a rocket back up the middle that Martinez was able to deflect and recover to throw to first.
"If the throw (to the plate) was on the money, he (Macalino) would've been out," Cota said of the decision not to send Macalino home."Our next hitter hits a shot right up the middle, hits off the guy (Martinez) and it happens to land a foot from him.
"In the playoffs, the ball has to bounce your way. I want them to take away that they competed for each other, they love each other…. It kind of encapsulates who they are, they never gave up, they kept fighting."
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.