Terra Nova baseball sweeps two-game series from Woodside to take control of PAL Ocean

“We know from previous years, Woodside loves to send runners no matter what,” Ornelas said. “I just threw it home as hard as I could.”

If making the game-winning throw wasn’t enough, Ornelas also went 3 for 3 at the plate, scored three runs and pitched a scoreless inning in relief of sophomore Jesse Martinez.

“He’s been incredible for us,” Tigers manager Jared Milch said. “He’s taken his senior role to heart, and him buying in as a senior really sets the tone for all those other guys.”

Ornelas’ inning on the mound got off to a rocky start. After the Tigers had taken the lead with two runs in the top of the sixth, he walked Charlie Dalrymple and Cattaneo. But the 6-3 right-hander struck out Wildcats star Trent Amoroso, got Anderson Comfort to ground out to first and induced a harmless popup off the bat of Cruz Torres to end the threat.

“My fastball wasn’t really there today. I was kind of losing it a little bit up,” Ornelas said. “My slider really came in handy.”

He had also scored the second run in the top half of the inning on Brody Finale’s single up the middle. Milch had held Austin Snead at third on Ornelas’ two-out single to left, a move that paid off when Donati hit a grounder that the shortstop first booted, then threw low to first, carrying Arias Torres off the bag and allowing Snead to score the go-ahead run.

“We have to eliminate the mental mistakes here and there,” Wildcats manager Daniel Rogers said. “We have the ability to do that. We have a lot of talent everywhere.”

Snead had reached when he was hit by an 0-2 pitch, then stole second before starting pitcher Joseph Hohl fanned Wesley McDougal for his seventh and final strikeout.

Hohl allowed five runs on nine hits over his six innings, but just two of those runs were earned. Woodside (6-6, 2-2) was haunted by hit by pitches and errors on two occasions, as Ornelas was beaned by an 0-2 pitch in the first inning and scored on a throwing error when Donati was picked off caught in a rundown between first and second. Naturally, Hohl got JT Snead to fly out on the next pitch.

The two earned runs against Hohl came in the third. Ornelas led off with a double and Finale knocked him in with a one-out gapper, then scored when JT Snead pounded the third double of the inning. The Tigers had men on second and third after Evan Wilson singled and stole second, but Hohl got a strikeout and fly out to limit the damage.

The Wildcats (2-2, 6-6-1) got two back in the bottom of the third as Amoroso started the inning with a five-pitch walk and Comfort showed bunt, then pulled back and slashed a single through the right side. Arias Torres got the hosts on the board with a one-out single, and after Fernandez’s single to center loaded the bases, Mokhtarani’s sac fly made it 3-2. Fernandez, a freshman, knocked in the tying run with an infield single in the bottom of the fifth.

Arias Torres led off the seventh with a walk, prompting Milch to send Ornelas back to right field and summon Cooper Santamato to the mound. Santamato got Fernandez to foul out to the catcher, but walked Mokhtarani. Diego Perez flew out to right for the second out, but Woodside got a new lease on life when Dalrymple hit a slow bouncer to third that Wilson couldn’t cleanly handle.

That brought up Cattaneo, who ripped a 1-2 pitch into right field. Ornelas fielded it cleanly, delivered a perfect throw and Donati was able to recover his initial bobble to end the game.

“You’ve gotta send him there and make the outfielder make a throw,” Rogers said. “Tip of the cap to him, he made a great throw.”