The reward for Cate’s baseball team winning its CIF opener on Thursday: No. 1 Cornerstone Christian.
The Rams traveled to defeat Santa Maria Valley Christian 15-9 in the first round, setting up a second-round clash with Division VII’s top-seeded team in Cornerstone Christian on Tuesday at Cate.
“Anything can happen,” said Cate head coach Ben Soto, who has only two seniors on this year’s team.
One of those, Kirk Seaman mashed a home run against Valley Christian. The Rams recorded 17 hits in all, led by Robert Fairbanks’ 4-for-4 performance. Fairbanks scored four runs, knocked in two more and stole three bases. Leadoff man Eric Luo scored twice and also stole three bases while reaching base five times in six at-bats.
Cate pitcher Jackson Mauze picked up the win on the hill, throwing five innings and leaving with an 11-1 lead.
The only reservation Soto had about the playoff victory was Cate’s defense, which committed six errors.
“We’re still learning,” Soto said. “We haven’t played our best game yet.”
Tuesday’s game begins at 3:30 on the Mesa.
