PREP WRAPUP / ROB FERNAS : Williamson’s Relief Effort Helps Torrance Turn Out Lights On Edison

Is there anything Antone Williamson can’t do on a baseball field?

The Torrance High junior is one of the South Bay’s leading hitters with a .512 average, in addition to being an excellent fielding third baseman.

Friday, he added another skill to his repertoire--relief ace.

Williamson was summoned to the mound in the seventh inning with runners on second and third, two outs and Torrance clinging to a 10-7 lead over Edison of Huntington Beach in a Southern Section 5-A Division playoff opener at Torrance Park.

Edison had already scored three runs in the inning off Torrance starter Mike Kendall, the last coming on a double to the left-field fence by Rocky Balch.

“I was out of gas,” Kendall said. “At that point, I probably couldn’t have broken a pane of glass.”

But Williamson could. The right-hander struck out Josh Gingrich on four pitches, the last one a fastball on the outside corner for a called third strike to end the game and record his second save in as many appearances.

“Antone was in there to do one thing--throw heat,” Torrance Coach Jeff Phillips said. “He’s either going to strike them out or they’re going to hit it out.”

Williamson’s heroics helped the Tartars (19-8) advance to the second round Tuesday against top-seeded Westlake (25-1), which rallied to beat upset-minded Mira Costa, 6-5. Westlake, ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today, won a coin flip to earn the home field.

“This team is really psyched,” said Kendall, who improved to 9-3 and most likely will start again Tuesday. “We’re ready to go, no matter who we’re up against in the next round.”

Torrance never trailed Friday. The Bay League tri-champions sent 12 men to the plate in the first inning, opening a 7-0 lead. Sophomore Jason Kendall and his brother Mike, a senior, delivered the big hits. Jason hit a two-run single to make it 3-0 and Mike followed with a two-run homer to left.

“I knew there’d be a lot of scoring going on,” Edison Coach Paul Harrell said. “But you can’t spot a team like Torrance seven runs. It’s awfully tough to come back.”

Edison (18-8), Sunset League runner-up, pulled within 7-4 after the third inning. But Torrance came back with three runs in the fourth, highlighted by Ruben Montoya’s third hit, a two-run single.

“We were prepared for a tight ball game, and we got it,” Phillips said. “Even after the first (inning), I knew it was far from over.”

Right fielder Eric Gonzalez, who bats clean-up and leads Torrance with 41 runs batted in, jammed two fingers while sliding head-first into second base in the second inning and was forced to leave the game.

Gonzalez’s fingers loosened up after icing them. He will be ready to play Tuesday, Phillips said.

Torrance is one of six South Bay teams still alive in the Southern Section baseball playoffs.

Other first-round winners:

--Rolling Hills defeated visiting St. Paul, 2-1, despite being outhit, 9-3. Junior right-hander Kirt Kishita (9-4) went the distance for the 5-A victory, striking out five and walking one. Rolling Hills (13-11) will travel to face Thousand Oaks (10-8) Tuesday. Thousand Oaks, the third-place team from the Marmonte League, advanced with a 10-3 upset victory over third-seeded Culver City, the Ocean League champion.

--Miraleste nearly squandered a 5-0 lead in a 2-A playoff opener, but the Marauders hung on for a 5-4 victory over visiting Pomona behind the pitching of Jason Mavar. The senior right-hander survived some rocky moments, including a three-run homer in the sixth, to throw a complete game. Mavar (12-2) retired the side in order in the seventh, ending the game on a strikeout. Miraleste (20-5) travels to face Atascadero (18-7) Tuesday.

--St. Bernard, despite giving up five home runs at its home field, defeated Temple City, 11-8, in a 2-A game. The Vikings (18-6) travel to face Agoura (15-9), the champion of the tough Frontier League, Tuesday.

Top-seeded El Segundo and fourth-seeded Mary Star both had byes in the 2-A playoffs. In Tuesday’s games, El Segundo (24-3) faces Santa Clara of Oxnard (14-6), a 7-6 winner over Morro Bay, at Recreation Park in El Segundo, and Mary Star (16-4-1) meets Santa Ynez (12-10), a 12-3 winner over Paso Robles, at Fromhold Field in San Pedro.

Palisades senior John Myrow has had better hits in his career, but none were any bigger than the one he got Friday at Banning.

Myrow’s two-out, bases-loaded double in the sixth inning scored three runs, tying the score, and sparked Palisades to a 4-3 victory in the first round of the L.A. City Section 4-A playoffs.

With a full count, Myrow hit a fly ball to shallow left field that eluded shortstop Mark Chavez and left fielder Nacho Cepeda, who nearly made a sliding catch. All three runners were going on the pitch.

UCLA-bound Myrow scored the game-winning run when second baseman Raul Diaz overthrew first on a ground ball by Greg Weber.

“(Myrow) didn’t impress me very much,” Banning Coach Syl Saavedra said. “But he put the bat on the ball and it worked. In the boxscore, it’s three RBIs and a base hit. If we catch the ball, it breaks their backs.”

Palisades got only four hits off Banning ace Mike Busby, who was cruising with a 3-0 lead until the sixth, when he loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman. Through five innings, Busby (9-4) had no walks and pitched to a minimum of 15 batters, allowing two hits.

“I don’t know what happened,” Saavedra said. “In the back of my mind, I always knew Mike was due for a bad game. He just had an off day.”

But Busby, a junior right-hander, didn’t get much help. He collected two of the team’s five hits and drove in two runs. After the third inning, the Pilots got only an infield single off Palisades right-hander Alan Bruns.

Banning, the Pacific League champion, finished 17-9.

Pacific runner-up Carson was beaten by Chatsworth, 6-1, while third-place San Pedro lost to San Fernando, 8-1. It marked the second consecutive year that all of the league’s playoff qualifiers were eliminated in the first round.

Mira Costa’s quest for the Southern Section 4-A boys’ volleyball title and an unbeaten season continues Tuesday night, as the top-seeded Mustangs (20-0) face San Marcos of Santa Barbara (8-9) in the semifinals at Redondo High.

Mira Costa has not lost a game in playoff victories over Dos Pueblos of Goleta and Newport Harbor. San Marcos, a wild-card entry, advanced Friday night with a 15-10, 15-13, 8-15, 15-4 upset victory over fourth-seeded Laguna Beach.

San Marcos finished third in the Channel League behind Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos. Santa Barbara (14-2) meets Edison of Huntington Beach (16-1) in the other semifinal at Dos Pueblos.

In the 2-A Division, Olympic League champion Miraleste defeated Windward, 15-11, 15-6, 9-15, 17-15, Friday behind 24 kills from outside hitter Brian Johnston. The third-seeded Marauders (17-1) face second-seeded Canyon of Santa Clarita (15-1) Tuesday night at Saugus High.

Finals in all divisions are Saturday night at Marina High in Huntington Beach.

South Bay softball teams are off to a strong start in the Southern Section playoffs.

In the second round Tuesday, South Torrance (18-3) will play host to Bellflower (22-6) and West Torrance (18-5) travels to meet Arlington of Riverside (16-7) in 3-A Division games.

In 4-A games Wednesday, Torrance (17-2) plays host to top-seeded Hart of Newhall (23-2) and Rolling Hills (18-9) is home against Villa Park (14-10-1). Hart is led by Kym Weil, the winningest pitcher in Southern Section history.