Guards Come Back!

Bellarmine-Jefferson 4, Chadwick 3: The Guards pushed across two runs in the seventh inning Tuesday to earn a wild-card win in the CIF Southern Section Division VI game on the road.

“Our kids just don’t give up,” said Bell-Jeff Coach Hector Perez, whose team placed third in the Santa Fe League. “They will play until the last out and they give it their all every game.”

The win puts Bell-Jeff (11-6) into a first-round game at 3:15 p.m. Friday at Vasquez. Vasquez (16-2) is a freelance team, meaning it doesn’t play in a league.

“We are just looking forward to continuing in the playoffs,” Perez said. “We have a young team and we could use the experience.”

Down, 3-2, in the seventh, Patrick Haney and Henry Terrones scored runs to help the Guards pull out the win.

Haney went the distance on the mound, striking out eight.

Martin Pinedo drove in four runs for Bell-Jeff, going two for three. Haney, Matt Landini and Mitch Kellogg each had hits.

The Guards took a 1-0 lead early in the game. The Dolphins pushed the lead to 2-1 and then to 3-2.

“It was a real dogfight,” Perez said. “Both teams really were going at it. I’m just glad we were able to come on at the end.”

Jeff Tully