Agoura's title dreams vanish in the blink of an eye

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers HEROIC EFFORT-Agoura junior pitcher Robert Stock sits alone on the Charger bench during last Saturday's CIF-SS Division I title game at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Stock held Lakewood scoreless for six innings, but in the bottom of the seventh the Lancers got three consecutive base hits to win the game, 2-1. In all its majesty, baseball can be a cruel and unforgiving game.

The Agoura Chargers were three outs away from winning last Saturday night's CIF-SS Division I championship matchup against Lakewood.

Junior right-hander Robert Stock was on the mound at Angel Stadium in Anaheim and he was throwing a gem of a ballgame, allowing three hits and no runs through six innings.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, with Agoura leading 1-0, Lakewood pieced together three consecutive hits-a leadoff bloop double to left field, a bunt single past the pitcher and a looper down the right-field line- quickly scoring a pair of runs to win the championship, 2-1.

Two of the hits were just inside the foul lines and the bunt was misplayed. They weren't hard-hit balls by any means, but just like that the game was over and the good guys hadn't won.

"You go from a feeling of anticipation to just feeling down," said Stock, the tough-luck losing pitcher who also went 3-for-3 at the plate with an intentional walk.

Stock scored Agoura's only run in the third inning on an RBI single by senior shortstop Nick Farinacci.

Although the scoreboard read otherwise, it was a game the Chargers controlled from the beginning-and probably should've put out of reach before the final inning. Entering the bottom of the sev

enth, Agoura had out-hit Lakewood 7-3. The Chargers, however, had squandered several scoring opportunities, including wasting a leadoff triple by right fielder Matt Prater in the top of the seventh and eventually leaving the bases loaded to end the inning.

AHS also left two men on board in the top of the first inning. For the game, the Chargers left eight men on base. Lakewood left six on base.

"We had chances and we just didn't capitalize," senior center fielder J.T. Wright said. "(Stock) threw a great game and everybody played well, but we just came up a little short."

Agoura's bats entered Angel Stadium red hot, having scored 17 runs combined in its two previous playoff wins over Mater Dei and Chino.

But Lakewood senior righthander Keith Chipman kept the Chargers off balance by changing speeds and effectively worked the outer half of the plate the entire evening.

"He changes speed well," Farinacci said. "He lived on the outside corner the whole time. It wasn't anything overpowering, but my hat's off to him. He pitched a hell of a game."

Chipman finished the year 121 with a 1.09 ERA. Lakewood ended its championship run 30-51. It was Lancer head coach Spud O'Neil's second CIF title (1987).

Lakewood has made 10 appearances in the CIF championship game, going 5-5 overall.

It was Agoura's first trip to the title game in school history.

The Chargers finished with a 21-9 record this season despite injuries to Stock and senior pitcher Jason Stoffel, who broke his ankle in the win over Mater Dei and had to sit out the final two playoff games.

In the postseason, everyone in the starting lineup stepped up with timely hitting and strong defense, Stock said.

"The best thing you can say about this team is that we are a team," Stock said. "Even when men go down, we keep on fighting. Things didn't turn out ultimately the way we wanted, but I'm proud of how the team did."

Stoffel and Wright carried the squad to a 12-inning win against Valencia in the second round. Ben Yarin, Cole McCune and Prater all swung hot sticks over the final three games.

Charger head coach Scott Deck, who'd been in the winning dugout as an assistant with Thousand Oaks in the 2003 Division II championship game, said the loss would sting for some time, but, he added, it shouldn't take anything away from what his group accomplished.

"There's nothing you can really say to take the pain away from a loss like this," Deck said.

"I just want to tell the team how proud I am of them. All of the adversity they overcame, going through what we had to go through to get to this point, it's a real honor and a tribute to their work ethic," Deck said.

"They are a great group of guys. The senior class, I'm going to miss these guys," he said. "They earned their right to be here, and we were so close."