Southern Section 3-A : Santa Ana Goes Extra Distance to Beat J.W. North, 8-4

Santa Ana High School collected five doubles and two triples and breezed to an 8-4 win over John W. North of Riverside on Tuesday in the second round of the Southern Section 3-A division playoffs at the Riverside Sports Complex.

The Saints (23-3) will meet Lompoc (21-5) in a rematch of last year’s 3-A semifinal game. The Braves advanced with a 5-3 win over Glendora. It was Lompoc that eliminated the Saints with a 3-2 victory last year at Hancock College in a game that Bill Ross, Santa Ana coach, hasn’t forgotten.

“We’d love to play Lompoc again,” he said. “Of course, I don’t want to make another 200-mile bus trip up there.”

The site of Friday’s quarterfinal game will be determined by a coin flip today at the Southern Section office.

The Saints continued to follow the script that has seen them combine a productive offense with the clutch pitching of senior left-hander John Schilling. Every starter except designated hitter Brian Flores had at least one hit as Santa Ana pounded four North pitchers for 12 hits.

Schilling (10-1) earned the victory by pitching 3 innings in relief of starter Tim Nelson and allowing only four hits. He came into the game after North had put runners on second and third with one out in the fourth inning and retired the side with the help of a fine diving catch by right fielder Jaime Franco.

Franco’s catch helped change the game’s complexion. The Saints were trailing, 2-1, when he made the play that saved two runs. A few minutes later, Santa Ana caught fire in the top of the fifth with a five-run outburst that featured two doubles and a triple and gave the Saints a 6-2 lead.

Schilling, showing he’s also adept at the plate, had the key hit of the inning with a two-run double to the gap in left-center and added another run-scoring double to almost the same spot in the sixth when the Saints added two more runs.

“We had more extra-base hits than singles today, but that doesn’t surprise me,” Ross said. “This is the best hitting team I’ve coached in 27 years and our fourth hitter, John Torres, is academically ineligible for the playoffs.”

The Saints have 54 doubles for the season and have scored 16 runs on 21 hits in two playoff victories. Shortstop Shawn Sterling was a standout on Tuesday, getting a single, double and triple.

But it’s no secret that Schilling is Santa Ana’s catalyst. He provided the necessary relief with the game in question. He credited Franco’s catch as the game-saver.

“That catch got the team going,” he said. “When we got the lead in the fifth, I felt I had the upper hand. I think I can go again Friday because I didn’t throw that many pitches today. A little ice on the arm and I should be able to go three or four innings.”