Timely hitting carries SoCal to win at Little League West Regional

SAN BERNARDINO — It took more than nine innings for Golden Hill Little League from Fullerton to score a run at the Little League Baseball West Region tournament, but once Gavin Janicke crossed home plate on a wild pitch, Southern California’s 11- and 12-year-old champions finally got moving.

Eli Simon smashed a three-run home run after a replay review, and Janicke went 3 for 3 with a double and a two-run home run as SoCal came from behind to defeat Arizona 7-3 in an elimination game at Al Houghton Stadium on Monday morning.

“Eli’s hit was that one crazy hit that’s got everybody on the bus and let’s roll,” said Joe Janicke, SoCal’s manager. “It’s follow-the-leader and everybody’s on board.”

Shut out 1-0 by Hawaii on opening night, Golden Hill (1-1 overall) now moves on to play the Hawaii-NorCal loser in a West Region elimination semifinal on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

“We got hits (five) versus Hawaii but they just weren’t timely hits,” Joe Janicke said. “Today, they were timely and home runs helped.”

Lincoln Ploog made his second relief appearance of the tournament, tossing 2 2/3 shutout innings to quiet the Arizona representative from Arcadia Little League in Phoenix, which took a 2-0 lead in the second inning off SoCal starter Jacob Woo.

In the fourth inning, Gavin Janicke singled and came around to score on a wild pitch for Golden Hill’s first run of the tournament.

In the fifth, Kellen Tucker was hit by a pitch before Raegan Pak hit what appeared to be a foul ball down the left-field line with one out. Arizona’s Oliver Fouts appeared to make the catch, but collided with shortstop Andrew Wachinski and dropped the ball.

Umpires initially ruled an out on the fly ball and the defense’s throw to first base had Tucker out on an inning-ending double play. But after a lengthy 10-minute review, the ball was ruled fair with Tucker at second base and Pak at first.

“The funny part is that it’s out of my hands,” Joe Janicke said. “I saw the play happen and I couldn’t tell. At first I thought, ‘Oh, what a great catch,’ but then I saw the ball pop out and I thought, ‘This could go one of five different ways.’ When it was called fair I couldn’t believe it.”

On the first pitch following the delay, Simon smacked a shot over the left-field wall to give SoCal its first lead of the tournament, 4-2, energizing his teammates and the Golden Hill supporters.

“I got nervous because it was taking so long, but I got a fastball middle-middle (and) running the basepaths was the best moment of my life,” Simon said.

Added Joe Janicke: “We’ve been a fifth-inning team, which is something that’s giving me gray hairs, but it just takes one big hit sometimes.”

Later in the inning, Janicke crushed a 1-1 pitch on top of the canopies in center field for a 6-2 lead. Woo added one more in the sixth when he doubled and came across on a wild pitch.

Arizona starter Cannon Olmstead scattered four hits and allowed one run in four complete innings. Cody Openden singled in the sixth to help add a late run for Arcadia LL (0-2), which could not hold late leads in both losses.