No. 3 Centennial holds steady, tops No. 1 Gaels

Centennial first baseman Frank Sessa knocked down the ground ball, picked it up, stumbled and eventually dived to the bag to beat the runner on a bang-bang play to end the game.

It was a microcosm of how the Bulldogs played all day Thursday. Centennial made some miscues, gave up the lead, but never stopped battling and earned a 6-5, eight-inning road win over top-ranked Bishop Gorman.

“It was not a perfect game, but they kept playing hard throughout,” Centennial coach Charlie Cerrone said. “And that’s all we can ask them to do.”

The third-ranked Bulldogs (16-6, 7-3 Division I Sunset League) took a 5-2 lead to the bottom of the seventh, but a key error in the outfield helped Gorman tie the game. Centennial didn’t fold, responding in the eighth with an RBI double by sophomore Garrett Holden.

“Today’s the first time in a long time our kids were dialed in to play,” Cerrone said. “And as bad as that bottom of the seventh was, our kids rallied up and believed in themselves.”

Hayden Rosenkrantz was hit by a pitch to lead off the eighth, and pinch runner Chandler Rogers went to second on a wild pitch. With one out, Sessa hit a grounder to Gorman shortstop Beau Capanna, who threw to third to try to get Rogers. But Rogers slid under the tag, putting runners on the corners. Holden then lined a 1-2 pitch into the gap in left-center field to score Rogers with the go-ahead run.

Holden also had an RBI single in the fifth to break a 2-2 tie.

“I don’t want to jinx him, but he’s been swinging the bat well all year,” Cerrone said. “He just puts bat on ball and a lot of good things happen for him. He’s very calm under pressure.”

Rosenkrantz, Centennial’s starting pitcher, had allowed four hits through six innings. He retired the first two batters in the seventh before hitting pinch hitter Bryce Ruggeroli. Marcus Paige then doubled off the fence in left to score a run. Capanna lined a single to left that got past Kyle Horton and went all the way to the fence, allowing Paige to score and Capanna to go to third. Jorel Hingada singled to right to score Capanna and tie the game.

Nikolaus Dobar relieved Rosenkrantz, and Myles Denson blooped a hit to right field. The ball spun away from right fielder Austin Kryszcuk, and Hingada tried to score, but Kryszcuk gunned him down at the plate to extend the game.

Bryce Rheault was 3-for-4 with a run, Sessa was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, and Horton went 2-for-4 with two doubles for the Bulldogs. Rosenkrantz and Kryzscuk each added two hits for Centennial.

“Hopefully this springboards us and we come together a little bit for the end of the road,” Cerrone said.

Capanna was 2-for-3 with three RBIs for the Gaels.

Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at 702-380-4587 or dseiters@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DamonSeiters