BASEBALL: CAMARILLO LOSES ITS GRIP VISTA MURRIETA'S SIMS HIT BY PITCH, FORCING IN RUN VISTA MURRIETA 1, CAMARILLO 0 (11).

Byline: HEATHER GRIPP

Staff Writer

Camarillo's bid for a Southern Section baseball championship ended with one errant pitch.

Vista Murrieta's Ronnie Sims was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 11th inning to force in the only run in the Broncos' 1-0 upset of top-seeded Camarillo in Thursday's Div. II final at Dodger Stadium.

It was a bitter ending for an otherwise stellar night for the Scorpions (28-3) on the mound.

Camarillo senior right-hander Garrett Rau retired the first 16 batters he faced and went on to throw 10 shutout innings, holding the Broncos to two hits with nine strikeouts before reaching his Southern Section-imposed limit of innings for a week.

Reliever Mike Sliger (6-1), who issued two walks, took the loss. Justin Bricker delivered the decisive pitch, ending the second-longest championship game in Southern Section history.

"It's just tough," Camarillo catcher Mike Yingling said. "We went up and played our hearts out. We deserved that ballgame."

The shutout was the first of the season for a Camarillo lineup that averaged 10 runs a game.

"Someone's got to lose," Rau said. 'We had our chances, too, and just gave them away, they were smart by walking me twice with a man on second. It's just the way baseball is.

"I think I could have gone all night. I think I only threw a hundred pitches."

Vista Murrieta's T.S. Reed opened the bottom of the seventh with just the Broncos' second hit of the night. He was sacrificed to second and advanced to third on a wild pitch, but an attempted two-strike squeeze play failed and Rau got out of the jam to send the game into extra innings.

Rau's bid for a perfect game was ended an inning earlier by Glenn Trott, Vista Murrieta's No. 8 hitter, who narrowly beat the throw to first on a bunt. Rau got out of the inning by retiring the next two batters.

The Broncos (28-4) left another runner in scoring position in the eighth. Camarillo stranded a runner on third in the 10th.

Rau entered the game with a 9-1 record and 1.72 ERA, but was best known for his .514batting average. He'd even admitted he considered himself an infielder first, but was pitching because his team could use him on the mound.

Rau looked every bit the part of a pitching ace Thursday.

He had seven strikeouts through the first four innings after striking out the side in order in the fourth.

Vista Murrieta starter Taylor Garrison allowed just two hits, but was removed with two runners on and one out in the fifth. He was relieved by ace left-hander Brian Valenzuela, who got out of a bases-loaded jam after surrendering a single to Rau.

Three Broncos pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts.

Camarillo first threatened in the third inning. Brendan Hindle opened the inning with the game's first hit, a line drive trapped by diving Vista Murriata center fielder Aaron Fischback. Kenny Wise sacrificed Hindle to second and Rau was intentionally walked to put two on with one out, but the rally ended two batters later.

Yingling, who started the fifth inning with a single to left, provided the Scorpions' only other hit during the first seven innings.

Vista Murrieta lost to Quartz Hill in last year's Div.III final. Camarillo was in the final for the first time since winning the Div. I title in 2002.

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Photo:

Camarillo's Kenny Wise, right, collides with Vista Murrieta first baseman Ronnie Sims.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News