LA COSTA CANYON HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

NORTH COUNTY TIMES

By Terry Monahan

"Guzman sends Mavs to losers' bracket"

LA COSTA - The rest of the week depended on how deep into Wenesday's CIF San Diego Section Division I baseball playoff game pitcher Adrian Guzman went.  Otay Ranch High coach Bob McCurdy certainly got more than he expected. 

  Guzman threw a complete-game five-hitter and visiting Otay Ranch reached La Costa Canyon ace Max MacNab for seven earned runs in a 10-3 victory that dropped the top-seeded Mavericks into the losers' bracket of the double-elimination portion of the CIF tournament.

  Guzman struck out five and walked three in improving to 7-2. One of the runs he surrendered scored on a balk. The other two came on back-to-back solo home runs by Phillip Evans and Will Swanner to lead off the fourth inning.

  "Other than that,  he was superb, keeping them off balance the entire way," Otay Ranch coach Bob McCurdy said. "That's the key to stopping them. If you don't, they can hurt you. Adrian was the key for the rest of the week coming off that 10-inning win over Carlsbad on Tuesday.  When you have so many games in a week, you have to get good pitching."

  Otay Ranch (23-10) used a six run outburst against MacNabb (9-2) in the fourth inning to take control of the game.  The Mavericks (26-5) will face Bonita Vista on Friday in an elimination game at La Costa Canyon. Bonita Vista lost to Rancho Bernardo 15-4 on Wednesday.

  "We certainly didn't defend our home field this time," LCC coach Justin Machado said. "Thank goodness this is a double-elimination tournament, because we weren't ready to play today, and that's my fault. The six run inning changed the whole day. If we come out of that inning trailing maybe 5-0 we still have a chance. It took us out of the game. I think people will be surprised at the score."

  Otay Ranch advanced to meet Rancho Bernardo in a winners' bracket game Friday at Rancho Bernardo.

  "This is a huge win for the kids and the program," McCurdy said. "We're still kind of a young school and were fighting for a little respect. We've got a good club."