It was winner take all. Whoever won the final regular season game between Lompoc and Santa Ynez would be the Los Padres League baseball champions.

And just like the last two seasons it was the Lompoc Braves who finished on top. Lompoc (9-3 LPL) scored seven runs in the fifth inning and five in the sixth as they rolled to a 15-3 win over the Pirates on Friday afternoon at Dan Bodary Field.

In 2007, the Braves were not picked to finish high in the league standings with a team heavy on youth, but won the title. This year with just four seniors - but with plenty of experience, Lompoc came through in league play once again.

Junior Dalton Rouleau pitched a complete game in a rare pitching start and had three hits, two runs and two RBIs at the plate. Seven Braves scored runs as the team pounded out 15 hits.

The Pirates (8-4 LPL) committed three errors in the third inning, leading to two Braves runs and breaking a 1-1 tie. In the fifth, the Braves exploded with seven runs on seven hits, a walk and one error. All seven hits were singles.

Ryan Bower led off the fifth with a single, moved to second when Brandon Alonzo walked. Kevin Erickson bunted to sacrifice the runners, but beat the throw to first for a single which loaded the bases.

Chris Mallory and Rouleau for two more runs. After Scott Aguailar hit a sacrifice fly that scored Erickson, Cody Berryman hit an RBI single. Daniel Mallory hit a single to right that was misplayed. Rouleau scored on the single and Berryman came all the way around to score on the error while Mallory went to third.

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Richie Hirzel singled for the final run of the inning and Sean Rowan was relieved by Eric Carvahlo. Rowan was touched for 12 hits in four-plus innings one week after pitching a no-hitter against St. Joseph.

Lompoc scored five runs in the sixth with three walks and three hits, including RBI singles by Berryman, Daniel Mallory, who knocked in his brother Chris and an RBI walk by Hirzel.

“We took advantage of some opportunities,” said Lompoc coach Jim Allen. “For the most part we hit the ball well - we hit the ball right up the middle.

“But our guys made good approaches. They've been working all week on really improving their approaches at the plate. They did a good job at Cabrillo on Tuesday and they came in today and smacked the ball around and put pressure on the other team.”

Santa Ynez coach Dave Kuehn was disappointed in how his team played.

“We made some mental errors that we haven't done all year,” he said. “And you can't do that against Lompoc the way they are hitting the ball and executing.

“We shot ourselves in the foot. You have to give Lompoc credit - they did what they had to do. But I'm very disappointed in our effort.”

The tide changed badly for the Pirates in a game that Kuehn thought his team was ready for.

“We really felt, looking at them and the way they approached the game that we were prepared mentally for it,” Kuehn explained. “I think they were intense but not tense. Then all the sudden things started to develop and the wheels feel off the cart. They just pressed and nothing went right for us after that.”

Allen cited the team leaders for getting the team ready for the big game.

“We've been in these big games before and our seniors showed a lot of leadership today,” Allen said.

Alonzo had two hits with three runs scored, Erickson added two with a sac fly and a walk, while scoring twice and Chris Mallory was 1-for-2 with a walk. He also reached on an error and scored three runs. The fourth senior Matt Samaniego made two outstanding catches in center and dove in an attempt to catch a double by Chase Yost that almost got in his glove.

Allen also talked about his junior pitcher.

“Dalton today took the bump - He hasn't been on the mound much this year, but he's pitched in some big games,” Allen explained. “He beat Long Beach Wilson which at the time was number two in the nation.

“He changes speeds extremely well and just missed the barrel all day long. He was forcing them to hit the ball, but he wasn't going to give them any balls over the middle.”

Kuehn was impressed by Rouleau's performance as well.

“Rouleau pitched a great game,” he said. “We didn't expect him to start - we thought maybe Ryan Bower would throw - but you still have to hit whoever they throw. His change-up was really nasty for us.”

Now it's the playoffs where Lompoc will get a home game as the number one seed and Santa Ynez will start on the road as the number three seed. St. Joseph with an 11-1 victory over Santa Maria Friday, ties Santa Ynez for second, but gets the number two seed. With the Templeton loss to Morro Bay, 3-1, Cabrillo will be the fourth seed.

Softball

Lompoc 4, Santa Ynez 2

Dana Campitelli's two-run single in the fifth inning broke open the Braves' LPL victory over the Pirates, clinching third place in league and a CIF playoff berth.

Campitelli went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in the victory, while teammate Leanna Corral was 3-for-3 with two runs scored.

Jeana Carrillo continued her winning ways for Lompoc (7-5, 13-11) by holding Santa Ynez (1-11, 8-16-1) to one earned run on four hits, striking out three and walking none.

Track and Field

Lompoc athletes

advance to finals

DOWNEY - Lompoc High School's Chelsea Cassulo, Jozza Ray and Masson Blow all advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division III Track and Field Finals.

The three qualified at the divisional preliminaries at Warren High School.

Cassulo was the top qualifier in the girls shot put (41-1), which is her signature event. She was also tops in the discus at 113-7 1/2. Ray qualified fifth in the girls long jump at 17-10 1/2. She tripled jumped 34-10. Her qualifying spot was not known at press time.

Masson Blow qualified seventh in the boys triple jump at 43-5 1/2.

Other Lompoc competitors included Courtney Stumpo (16.53, girls 100 meter hurdles, 49.49, 300 hurdles), Megan Wells (1:02.4, girls 400), Becky Sullivan (85-3, girls discus) and Jake Morehart. Morehart was disqualified in the boys 110 hurdles.

May 11, 2008