The562’s coverage of Saints athletics is sponsored in part by St. Anthony High School.
After winning its first two CIF Southern Section Division 5 playoff games by a combined score of 30-5, the St. Anthony baseball team ran into a buzzsaw on Friday in the quarterfinals and lost to visiting Shadow Hills 10-4 at Clark Field.
Shadow Hills pitcher Julian Herrera only gave up one hit before the sixth inning when St. Anthony catcher Issac Salazar hit a three-run double to get his team on the board. Herrera pitched 6.2 innings and struck out seven while giving up just three hits.
“It was a great year for us,” Salazar said. “I’m proud of these boys, we’ve worked so hard. I’m beyond grateful for this school. I transferred here this year and I made some lifelong friends.”
St. Anthony left fielder Owen Shaw had the other two hits at the bottom of the lineup, and second baseman Robby Shepherd had the other RBI in the seventh inning.
“That guy was tough,” St. Anthony coach Kris Jondle said of Herrera. “We knew he was good. Normally he is a little bit more wild and would give us more opportunities. He really had command of all of his stuff. His offspeed stuff, we just couldn’t make the adjustment.”
St. Anthony starter Tyler Harris looked good early while pitching around a few errors, but Shadow Hills took a lead in the fourth inning when Carlos Guzman hit a two-run home run. Guzman went 4-for-4 with three singles, four RBI and two runs scored.
Shadow Hills batted around in the sixth inning while scoring six runs in the frame before Salazar’s bases-clearing double. The Saints stranded five runners in scoring position.
“He’s a tough kid,” Jondle said of Salazar. “He’s been one of our leaders all year long. He was hitting .500 going into today and he’s been on fire the last three or four weeks and playing solid defense behind the plate.”
This is the first time St. Anthony reached the quarterfinals since 2018.
