BASEBALL: CORDEIRO THE DIFFERENCE FOR T.O. : T. OAKS 4 NOTRE DAME 3.

Byline: Heather Gripp Daily News Staff Writer

There's one pitch Phil Polanco wishes he could take back.

The first pitch the Notre Dame pitcher threw to Chris Cordeiro in the second inning accounted for only one run, but it set the tone for Friday's first-round Division I baseball playoff game at Thousand Oaks.

Cordeiro sent the high fastball into the parking lot beyond left field, indicating Thousand Oaks wouldn't be relying on its usual small-ball tactics. It proved that Polanco was beatable, and it gave a glimpse of Cordeiro's big day.

Cordeiro went 2 for 3 with two RBI and struck out 11 en route to a complete game, 4-3 upset victory over the Knights.

``I was just running on adrenaline today,'' said Cordeiro, a junior right-hander.

It showed. He struck out five in the first two innings and was one of two Lancers to get multiple hits. Cordeiro's third homer of the year, a leadoff shot in the second, gave the Lancers a 1-0 lead.

``That's the only pitch I'd like back,'' said Polanco (10-1), who struck out five in six innings.

The third inning was one of Cordeiro's few weaknesses. Notre Dame scored all three of its runs when the first five batters had hits.

Chris Dickerson led off with a double and scored the tying run on a single by Alec Moss. Jon Horwitz provided the Knights' second bunt single of the inning to load the bases with no outs. Brendan Ryan capped the rally with a ground-rule double that made it 3-1.

``It's a curse for me,'' Cordeiro said. ``Every third inning, I struggle. I just need to get past those third innings and I'm fine.''

Billy Lockin gave the lead back to the Lancers (19-5) in the fourth. After Polonco walked the bases loaded, Lockin doubled down the left-field line to drive in two. Ryan Donahue was thrown out at the plate on the play to end the inning.

Cordeiro had made it a one-run game the inning before when he drove in Adam Leavitt with a two-out single.

``That was huge,'' Cordeiro said of Lockin's hit. ``That meant we were in the driver's seat.

``If we lose we want to go down with our best effort, so we put everything out there today.''

The Knights (23-5) threatened in the seventh with a one-out double by Moss, but he was thrown out at third when Cordeiro quickly fielded a bunt by Horwitz. Moss and Dickerson each had two hits and Ryan went 3 for 4 for Notre Dame, which outhit the Lancers 11-7.

``We played probably our best game of the season today,'' said Polonco, who beat Thousand Oaks earlier in the season, ``but it wasn't meant to be. I really believe that. It just wasn't our day.''

Thousand Oaks plays the winner of the Long Beach Wilson-St. John Bosco game in the second round Tuesday.

``That's one down, four to go,'' Lockin said.

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Photo

Photo: Chris Cordeiro, who struck out 11 in a complete-game performance, is fired up after recording the last out in Thousand Oaks' win.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News