Sylmar wins City Section Division I baseball title on walk-off hit in seventh

Victor Carrera of Sylmar drove the ball on a 2-2 count with the bases loaded between the first baseman and second baseman in a drawn in infield in the bottom of the seventh inning of a 0-0 game against Granada Hills Kennedy at Dodger Stadium under a gloomy sky.

Suddenly, there was bedlam from Sylmar fans and players. The game was over. Sylmar won 1-0 as Adrian Jaime touched home plate after Carrera’s single, giving the Spartans the City Section Division I championship, their first since 1980.

“It’s one of the craziest moments of my life,” the junior shortstop said.

The inning started with Jaime striking out but the ball went to the backstop, allowing him to reach first. That’s all the Spartans needed to move into position to score against left-hander Oscar Patron, who struck out five and walked two. Sylmar’s Hector Martinez sacrificed Jaime to second. After an intentional walk, Cesar Morales singled to load the bases, setting the moment for Carrera.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight and who was going to break first,” said Sylmar coach Ray Rivera, whose team lost to Kennedy 1-0 and beat Kennedy 3-2 in Valley Mission League games.

Sylmar’s Matthew Benzo allowed five hits while striking out five and walking one to pick up the win. He escaped the third and fourth innings with strikeouts to keep Kennedy scoreless.

Sylmar’s Emilio Ochoa is tagged out by catcher Sebastian Castellano trying to score from second in the sixth inning against Kennedy.

(Craig Weston)

Kennedy received a sensational throw from right fielder Santiago Torres to prevent Sylmar from scoring in the sixth inning from second base on a play at the plate.

Jaime is the third brother to play baseball at Sylmar for Rivera but the first to win a ring.

“I’m going to brag about it for sure, but it’s all in love,” he said.

Morales, the No. 9 hitter for Sylmar, finished with two hits.

It was the first title for Rivera, Sylmar’s head coach since 2003. He played at Dodger Stadium as a member of San Fernando’s team and also was an assistant coach.

“To see the kids’ expressions, it’s so cool,” he said. “This is what it’s all about.”

When he was a player, Rivera remembers getting yelled at by a Dodger groundskeeper for taking some dirt home with him in 1991.

“I still have it in a bottle,” he said.