HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SOUTHERN SECTION CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES : Millikan Upsets Diamond Bar

Top-seeded Diamond Bar High, known for its come-from-behind victories, ran out of magic Saturday night in a 5-4 loss to Long Beach Millikan in the Southern Section Division 5-A championship.

Before 11,610 at Anaheim Stadium, the Brahmas mounted rallies in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings. Both fell short.

Millikan, defending 5-A champion, broke the game open with three runs in the third inning to take a 5-1 lead. Greg Gregory (5-3), who went the distance, worked his way out of jams in the final two innings.

Diamond Bar (28-2), which scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to beat Placentia El Dorado, 5-4, in the semifinals last Tuesday, appeared set for a repeat performance.

Chad Overacker and David Mallas each had run-scoring singles in the sixth inning to cut Millikan’s lead to 5-3.

In the seventh, Diamond Bar’s Mike Corominas singled home a run to get the Brahmas close, but with two runners on base, Gregory got Overacker to fly out.

Millikan (22-5-1), which finished third in the Moore League, became the section’s first large-school division team to repeat its title since Ontario Chaffey won three in a row from 1956-58.

Jared Janke (11-1) took the loss.

4-A

West Covina South Hills 6, Irvine 5--Irvine blew a four-run lead, then the 4-A title game in extra innings. Troy Chiara scored on a wild pitch with two out in the ninth for the Huskies.

Chiara reached base on a bloop single, then broke for second on a botched hit-and-run play. But catcher Jason Minici’s throw went into center field and Chiara continued on to third. One pitch later, the Huskies were champions.

The Vaqueros (20-11) scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 5-1 lead. But South Hills (19-9-1) scored four in the bottom of the inning, sendint thegame to extra innings.

Randy Vickers had a RBI double and Chiara an RBI single in the inning. Jeremy Giambi tied the score with a bases-loaded single.

3-A

Corona 6, Norwalk 3--Corona (19-13) scored four runs in the third inning to overcome a fast start by Norwalk (17-8) in the 3-A title game.

Norwalk, whose last title-game apppearance was in 1983, scored three runs in the top of the first inning. But the Lancers could generate little offense after that.

Corona relief pitcher Brian Rios (1-2) picked up his first win of the season by limiting Nowalk to three hits in the final 3 2/3 innings.

The Panthers took charge in the third inning when right fielder Ryan Martin hit a three-run triple. The championship capped a dramatic turnaround for the Panthers, who lost their first five games.

2-A

San Marino 4, Temecula Valley 0--Junior pitcher Matt Barbarics pitched a four-hitter to lead San Marino (22-4) to the 2-A title.

Barbarics (5-0), threw two wild pitches and had only one strike out, but his performance was more than enough to keep Temecula Valley (23-6) off the board.

The title was the third for the Titans since 1984, and their second in a row.

Ryan Johnson’s run-scoring single in the first inning proved to be the game-winner.