Photos: Mission Viejo Baseball Wins CIF Division Championship

The Diablos’ post-game celebration echoed from the parking lot to the press box at Dodger Stadium. The cheers and chants of “Mission” from the team’s faithful may as well have been a collective sigh of relief. Months after being tabbed as this season's prohibitive  powerhouse, Mission Viejo accomplished something that so few favorites are actually able to do.

Coach Chris Ashbach’s club turned reverie into reality.

The veteran skipper and his veteran team secured the school’s first CIF Southern Section baseball title on Thursday night, knocking off Etiwanda, 6-2, in the Division 2 final in Los Angeles. After jumping to a three-run advantage in the first inning, the Diablos protected their lead for the remainder of the contest by consistently executing at the plate and on the mound.

Pitcher Willie Kuhl capped off a memorable career with a performance that will immediately enter the all-time annals of the school’s sensational sports history. The senior right-hander thwarted the Eagles’ offensive efforts throughout the evening, tossing a four-hit, seven-strikeout gem.

The staff ace pounded the strike zone with first-pitch fastballs to get ahead of hitters, before busting out a sharp slider that finished off a number of batters.

“My slider was potent,” Kuhl said after going the distance for his eighth victory of the season.

Mission Viejo (23-13), designated the visiting team for the game, took advantage of an early Etiwanda (18-12) error to grab the lead.

Right fielder Austin Saenz led off the first inning with a seemingly harmless ground ball to Eagles third baseman Israel Elizarraras, but the fielder’s throw to first base took a low bounce and rolled into foul territory, allowing Saenz to sprint to second. Boog Powell followed with a bunt single toward third base, putting runners on the corners. After Powell stole second base, he advanced to third on senior second baseman Ryan Raslowsky's sacrifice fly, which plated Saenz with the game's first run.

Two batters later, left fielder Parker Anderson slapped a single into shallow left field to score Powell. One pitch later, designated hitter Jake Kuluris clobbered a double down the right-field line to advance Anderson to third base. Eagles starting pitcher Justin Davis then made a grave mistake. The senior balked, issuing a free pass to home for Anderson and handing Mission Viejo a 3-0 lead.

Etiwanda’s only two runs came in the bottom of the second inning, when Kuhl faced seven batters and dealt with control issues. The Eagles would never advance a runner beyond second base over the final five innings.

Mission Viejo gained separation with a run in both the fourth and fifth innings. Saenz sent a sacrifice fly to center field with one out in the fourth to score third baseman Danny Poe, while Anderson drove in his second run of the contest with an RBI groundout in the fifth inning.

The Diablos dynamic outfield trio of Saenz, Anderson and Powell combined to drive in three of the team’s six runs and scored four runs themselves. Each is a senior. In fact, eight of Mission Viejo’s nine starters were playing their final game in black, gold and red.

“I’ve loved watching these seniors this year,” said shortstop Derek Meddings, the team’s lone starting junior. “They’ve taught me a lot and I’m going to miss them."

Etiwanda defeated second-seeded Redlands and third-seeded Arcadia along their journey from wild-card afterthought to Cinderella story. The Eagles simply couldn’t stop a motivated Mission Viejo squad, putting only three runners on base after the second inning.

The Diablos extended their lead to 6-2 in the seventh inning when Poe squared up and dropped a one-out squeeze bunt, scoring Anderson, who had tripled. It was one of three Mission Viejo runs that resulted from a sacrifice.

“This team has always shown the ability to execute and make things happen,” Ashbach said. “Their ability to produce runs with outs is amazing.”

After surrendering a leadoff walk to Etiwanda’s Eddy Santana in the seventh, Kuhl calmly closed out the Eagles. After striking out Elizarraras for the first out, Kuhl induced consecutive fly outs.

At 9:38 p.m., Etiwanda second baseman Justin Broussard skied a hooking line drive toward the left-center field gap. Diablos senior Austin Fraker, recently inserted to play left field, caught up with the ball on the run and squeezed the leather.

Game over. Monumental expectations fulfilled.

Ashbach stood along the first base foul line after the culmination of a sometimes maddening and recently scintillating season. His first title didn’t come easy, but the arduous trip from March to June proved to be worth every bump in the road.

“It's been an unbelievably emotional journey,” Ashbach said. “We’ve been through a whole bunch this year and you could see the emotion building as the season progressed. We got some momentum, confidence and started playing really well. The ability has been there all season, but our change in approach is what drove us to this moment.”

Kuhl couldn’t help but reflect on all the time he spent with a senior group of 16 players. As children, they dreamed of bringing a trophy home to the halls of Mission Viejo. On Thursday, they earned it, though the moment was years in the making.

“We played Little League together, played club together and grew up together,” Kuhl said. “To be able to win this together, play as a team and share this is fantastic.”