Castaic baseball team earns first CIF-SS playoff victory
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SAUGUS — There’s a first time for everything.
However, Castaic High’s first playoff game – in any team sport – did not play out as intended.
The Coyotes’ 3-2 win over visiting Excelsior Charter of Victorville in the wild-card round of the CIF Southern Section Division 6 baseball playoffs Wednesday had to be played at Saugus High after the umpires and school officials deemed Castaic’s home field unsafe and unplayable.
An over-watered section of the infield between first and second base created a muddy patch that could be dangerous to players, according to the umpires, and that forced the game to be moved.
Excelsior coach Fernando Thomas wasn’t thrilled about his team getting back on the road after already trekking two hours for the game.
“We’re ready to play,” said Thomas before packing up his players for the drive to Saugus.
After the game was officially moved, a caravan of players, coaches, students and parents drove roughly 30 minutes to Saugus High, where Castaic came back two different times to mark school history with a win and advance to the second round.
Castaic will play at Oxford Academy of Anaheim on Friday afternoon.
Castaic’s doors opened in the fall of 2019, but it didn’t field a varsity baseball team until last season. The Coyotes reached the postseason in just their second year of varsity competition.
“The boys have been working for this,” Castaic coach Darrell Davis said. “They knew what was going on today, they knew all week. They’re a part of history now.”
Senior pitcher Kyler Freude earned the win by going 6 1/3 innings, throwing 102 pitches, with five strikeouts.
He also provided a sacrifice fly to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning.
After falling behind again, Freude scored the tying run to make it 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth. He scored on an error on a fly ball hit by David Cailotto.
“Kyler came to us as a sophomore … and to watch him grow into a good pitcher has been a joy,” Davis said. “His work ethic is top-notch, he doesn’t get frazzled. Doesn’t matter what environment he’s in.”
Senior Jacob Bond delivered what proved to be the game-winning hit in the bottom of the fifth, scoring Cailotto.
Castaic (19-7-1) finished third in the competitive Foothill League behind Valencia and West Ranch.
Davis believes the league battles with Hart (Division 1), West Ranch (Division 2) and Valencia (Division 3) helped guide his Coyotes through Wednesday’s adversity.
“All of our games, even the ones we lost this year, were tight,” Davis said. “We won some tight games, too. There’s nothing we haven’t seen before.”
It was a full circle moment for Davis. He was a standout player at Saugus before graduating in 1989. He helped the Centurions reach the CIF Southern Section Division 3-A final at Dodger Stadium his senior year. That team was led by pitcher Roger Salkeld, who was eventually drafted No. 3 overall, by the Seattle Mariners, in that year’s MLB Draft.
Castaic baseball coach Darrell Davis led the Coyotes to the school’s first playoff victory today.
Due to field conditions, the game had to be played at Saugus where Davis went to school. He graduated in 1989 and is Saugus’ all-time steals leader.
A full-circle moment. pic.twitter.com/YxMieW98w9
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) May 4, 2023
Davis still holds the all-time steals record (62) at Saugus, where high school baseball ended for him, but is just getting started for Castaic.
“Today was great, but the job’s not finished,” said Davis, alluding to a deep playoff run.