C. HALL TAKES TITLE ANDREW LAWSON GETS GAME-WINNING HIT CAMP. HALL 5, GREAT OAK 4.

Byline: JUSTIN FRANK Special to the Daily News

RIVERSIDE -- Campbell Hall of North Hollywood faced two deficits Thursday night, but they weren't enough to prevent the Vikings from winning their second consecutive Southern Section Div. VI baseball title.

Campbell Hall fell behind by three runs before tying the score in the fifth inning, then staged another comeback in the bottom of the seventh, capped by senior Andrew Lawson's game-winning single, giving the Vikings a 5-4 victory over Great Oak of Temecula at UC Riverside.

Trailing 4-3 entering their final at-bat, the third-seeded Vikings (19-8-1) loaded the bases with no outs on walks by Jason Schwartz and Greg Zebrack and a bunt single by Zach Kaplan. Campbell Hall, which defeated Boron 2-1 in last year's final, tied the score at 4-4 when Matt Cherry was hit on the elbow by a pitch, scoring Schwartz.

Lawson then provided the walk-off heroics, delivering a line drive to right-center to help the Vikings become the first Southern Section team since Capistrano Valley of Mission Viejo in 2000-01 to win back-to-back titles.

``I was really nervous up there, but I knew I was going to get something done,'' said Lawson, who plans to play baseball at Trinity College in Texas. ``I felt like I was waiting my entire high school career to do something like this.''

After managing only two hits in the first four innings, Campbell Hall loaded the bases in the fifth with two walks and a hit. Kaplan worked a full count on starter Nick McManus before driving the ball to the left-center field gap, clearing the bases to tie the score.

``I knew in this situation we needed a spark and I did the best I could to be that,'' Kaplan said. ``I knew if I didn't come through then, we wouldn't have a chance to win the game.''

Great Oak finished 20-9.

justin.frank(at)dailynews.com

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