Santa Margarita may have snagged the last at-large spot in the Southern Section Division 2 baseball playoffs, but the Eagles made one thing crystal clear Thursday: They're no fluke. In a jaw-dropping 19-1 road demolition of Rancho Christian, the Eagles launched an astonishing eight home runs, with Andre Owens leading the charge with three of his own. The short right-field fence became a favorite target, as six of those bombs sailed over it, sending a loud message to the rest of the bracket.
Elsewhere in Division 2, top-seeded Villa Park was sent packing in a 3-2 thriller against Elsinore. With the game knotted at 2-2 in the sixth, Tyler Willeford delivered a go-ahead RBI single, and Elsinore's defense held firm to seal the upset. Meanwhile, Ganesha needed extra innings to edge Linfield Christian 2-1, as Logan Schmidt crushed a two-run homer in the eighth to break a scoreless deadlock. Schmidt also dominated on the mound, tossing seven shutout innings with just one hit allowed and five strikeouts.
South Hills blanked San Clemente 2-0 behind a three-pitcher combined shutout, with Gabriel Guerrero slamming the door for the save. Newport Harbor flexed its muscles in a 15-1 rout of Trabuco Hills, as Henry Mann went a perfect 4-for-4 with a home run. Great Oak used a balanced attack to top Valley View 10-5, with Brayden Dominguez lacing two doubles and driving in two runs.
In a nail-biter, Aquinas walked off Dana Hills 3-2 when a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh forced in the winning run. Carter Hadnot added a solo home run, while pitchers Gavin Loeb-Keene and Chris Alzaga combined for 12 strikeouts. Gahr's Carlos Munoz was untouchable in a 3-0 win over El Segundo, firing a four-hit shutout with six strikeouts and no walks. Servite's Shane Wendler was nearly as dominant, fanning 10 and allowing just one hit in a 2-0 victory over Costa Mesa, with Jaden Liu chipping in an RBI single.
Royal needed extra innings to edge El Modena 4-3, as Matthew Stout crushed a walk-off two-run double in the eighth. Dustin Dunwoody was stellar on the mound, striking out nine and surrendering just one run over seven innings. Chaminade held off Newbury Park in a 10-9 slugfest, keeping the Mission League undefeated at 6-0 in the postseason. Robby Morgan went 4-for-4, and Austin Maien launched a three-run homer to fuel the win. Finally, Bishop Alemany topped Mission Viejo 4-1, with Noel Barrientos allowing just one run in a strong outing.