BELLFLOWER — St. John Bosco once again showed a flair for the dramatic on its newly renovated baseball field.
Three days after a walk-off victory over Orange Lutheran to christen the updated park, the Braves scored four runs in the sixth inning Friday and won 5-3 to finish off a three-game sweep of the Lancers at the start of Trinity League play.
“Seriously, it’s been a good little run at home,” Bosco coach Andy Rojo said of his team’s knack to rally late. “The guys did a tremendous job, they really wanted to finish off this series on a strong note.”
Bosco (11-3, 3-0), which has won eight consecutive games, chased Orange Lutheran starting pitcher Sam Principe with three consecutive hits to open the sixth.
A single from first baseman Moises Razo and a two-run home run by designated hitter Noah Everly tied the game 3-3.
Razo finished 2 for 2 with a pair of singles, a walk and a run scored.
“It all started with Razo, he got the base hit to knock it down,” Everly said. “I came up, I recognized they were pitching me inside. I had to back off the plate, got that inside fastball and went boom-boom on that ball.”
The third hit of the barrage was a single by right fielder Macade Maxwell, who moved up to second on Miles Clark’s sacrifice bunt.
Two batters later, pinch-hitter Adrian Rosales reached down to line a two-out, go-ahead RBI single to center field off Lancers relief pitcher Marcus Greis.
Rosales said he was looking for a fastball, and not any particular location.
“I was seeing the ball pretty well,” Rosales said. “Took some good hacks, some good pitches. I got it and barreled it up.”
The Braves tacked on some insurance with shortstop James Clark’s RBI single before the Lancers got out of the inning.
Orange Lutheran (11-4, 0-3) struggled in the late innings against Bosco starting pitcher Jack Champlin, who retired the final eight batters and went the distance.
“It’s just baseball, right?” Lancers coach RJ Farrell said. “(Champlin) made some good pitches, we didn’t execute offensively and it went the wrong way.”
Champlin allowed three runs on three hits, struck out six, walked one and hit a batter. He was able to shake off allowing a two-run homer to Orange Lutheran right fielder Hamilton Friedberg just four batters into the opening inning.
The Lancers’ last hits off Champlin were back-to-back, one-out singles in the fourth including one from Friedberg, who went 2 for 3 at the plate.
“In the first inning, hung a slider 3-2 and he put a good swing on it,” Champlin said. “But I knew my guys would have my back. We’re not facing a big leaguer up there, he’s just another 17-year-old like us.
“I was just trying to make pitches and attack the zone. … As I kind of progressed through the game, I kind of calmed down. I was able to go inside-outside with my two-seam fastball, wherever I wanted to put it, and my changeup was deadly to left-handed hitters.”
Other than the Feb. 26 season opener, Bosco hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any game.
Rojo credited Champlin for his competitiveness and ability to overcome some early miscues from the defense.
“He had to overcome mentally and emotionally,” Rojo said. “But we were able to score some runs and he was able to re-engage and finish it off.”
Through five innings, Principe was able to limit the damage and wipe out some early Bosco opportunities.
Among them, Principe got Everly to fly out to right to end the third, leaving runners on the corners to preserve a 2-1 lead.
“He was in control, to be honest with you,” Rojo said.
The Lancers then pushed the lead to 3-1 after Friedberg scored on an error on the left side of the infield in the fourth.
Principe retired Bosco in order in the fifth before running into the trouble that led to his exit. He allowed four runs on seven hits, struck out three and walked one.
“Sam threw his butt off today,” Farrell said. “He was really, really good. He just missed a spot in the wrong time (against Everly).”
Next up for the Braves will be a three-game set against Santa Margarita. Bosco will host two of the contests, including the opener Tuesday.
Orange Lutheran will open a three-game series at JSerra on Tuesday before hosting the series’ final two games.
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