Notre Dame Goes Down Swinging, 5-4

Notre Dame High came back from one deficit, then another, then. . . .

The Knights walked off the field defeated.

San Luis Obispo’s third lead was charmed because it came in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Southern Section Division IV final at Dodger Stadium.

A sharp single by Scott Dodge barely out of the reach of shortstop Jonathon Brewster scored Baker Krukow from second base and gave San Luis Obispo a 5-4 victory Saturday, the Tigers’ first championship in five visits to the final.

Notre Dame (19-10), playing in Division IV for the first time, was making its first championship appearance behind a senior-laden team.

“We had our chances,” Coach Tom Dill said. “In a game like this you don’t get second chances. They did a better job with their opportunities than we did.”

However, the Knights showed fight and heart. As well as a flair for the dramatic.

Down to their last out, the Knights extended the game when James Rivero belted a first-pitch home run 385 feet over the left-field fence to tie the score, 4-4.

Alec Moss and Chris Dickerson followed with singles to put runners on first and third, but Brendan Ryan struck out.

Similar heroics keyed a two-run sixth inning that put Notre Dame ahead, 3-2. Moss doubled and Dickerson singled with none out and Dickerson stole second to put runners on second and third.

Ryan and Matt Cunningham struck out, bringing up Brewster, who hit a two-strike pitch into left field for a two-run single. Brewster atoned for two throwing errors, the second of which led to San Luis Obispo’s second run in the fourth inning.

“We showed we had heart and that we never die,” Dill said.

Unfortunately for the Knights, neither did the Tigers (23-7).

Dodge, San Luis Obispo County football player of the year for a team that lost to Westlake in a Southern Section final, opened the sixth with a bouncer over the mound for a single, prompting Dill to replace pitcher Daniel Browne with Matt Kohon.

Browne had been sensational, striking out nine in the first four innings, including the side in the first and fourth, and not walking a batter. His only mistake was a hanging curve in the first that Chalon Tietje hit for a home run.

But with Browne’s pitch count nearing 100, Dill went with Kohon (8-2), a senior right-hander who earned victories in the Knights’ first two playoff games.

“The umpire had a big strike zone and both Daniel and Matt used the corners well,” said Cunningham, the catcher. “Daniel really had his fastball working.”

Shane Stover, hit a ground-rule double, Dodge taking third. Kohon struck out two batters on change-ups but Trevor Caughey jumped on a first-pitch fastball, lining it to right for two runs and a 4-3 lead.

Caughey, a left-hander, also pitched effectively, keeping Notre Dame from putting up a big inning until ace right-hander Jason Daily came on in the fifth.

The Knights scored an unearned run in the first when Rivero and Moss opened the game with singles and second baseman Wes Pereira threw the ball into the first-base dugout trying to complete a double play on a ground ball by Ryan.

The game progressed at break-neck speed, with Krukow--son of former major league pitcher Mike Krukow--scoring the winning run not two hours after the first pitch.

The Notre Dame seniors began the day rushing through graduation ceremonies and ended it watching San Luis Obispo players rush the field in celebration.

“It was a lot of fun and it’s better to go out this way than earlier in the playoffs,” Moss said. “This hurts, but we’ll get over it. We’ll realize this as one of the most memorable days of our lives.”