DIV. IV: ERRORS FELL CHAMINADE IN DIVISION IV SEMIS BISHOP AMAT 8, CHAMINADE 7.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

Cody Haerther gave the Chaminade High of West Hills baseball team another chance. But the extra chances the Eagles gave to the opposition where what left Haerther and his teammates spending another offseason wondering what could have been.

Haerther helped erase damage done by four Chaminade errors by hitting a three-run home run to tie the game in the sixth inning, but top-seeded Bishop Amat of La Puente scored a run in the seventh for an 8-7 victory over fourth-seeded Chaminade in Tuesday's Southern Section Division IV semifinal at Birmingham High.

``Errors cost us,'' Haerther said. ``That's baseball. We gave them too many chances. You can't do that against a team like that. The baseball gods weren't with us today.''

Chaminade had a tough day from the start. In a rematch of last year's semifinal, the Eagles (23-8) were facing a team ranked No. 2 in the nation by multiple publications. Chaminade ace Bobby Paschal had waited a year for a chance to redeem himself, but the USC-bound left-hander invoked flashbacks of last year's loss when he opened with an uncharacteristicly wild first inning.

Paschal, who allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, gave up two runs in the first inning. He ended the inning by picking off a runner at first, then extended the momentum by facing the minimum number of batters the next two innings.

Haerther and Shane Sabran drove in runs to bring Chaminade within one in the fifth inning, but two Eagles errors sparked a four-run rally in the sixth to put Bishop Amat (27-2) back in control.

``Everone was dead,'' Haerther said. ``We were dead, the fans were dead. It looked like it was over.''

With the UC Irvine-bound Haerther at bat, though, Chaminade knows things are never over. Haerther, who hit a seventh-inning home run for the victory in the quarterfinals, capped a five-run sixth inning rally with a towering shot to right field for his 10th home run of the season.

``He's a clutch player,'' Eagles coach Scott Drootin said. ``The guy clutches up when you need him. He's a big-time player.''

Back-to-back doubles by Bishop Amat's Jordan Swaydan and Mike Lange provided the deciding run.

``There's a big element of confidence on this team,'' said Lancers coach Kenny Kendrena, whose team has not lost a game since early in the season, when multiple starters were unavailable. ``Not cockiness but confidence that we can overcome anything. That's an attribute of composure and it definitely showed today.''

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Photo:

Pitcher Anthony Hidalgo, left, and Bishop Amat teammates celebrate after top-seeded Lancers defeated fourth-seeded Chaminade in Div. IV semifinals.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer