All photos by Benjamin Becher

NORTHRIDGE – In a semifinal showdown for the ages, the top seeded Venice Gondoliers and fifth seeded Sylmar Spartans traded punches all evening in a tense, seesaw affair that ended with a walk-off in the bottom of the eighth, lifting Venice to an improbable 9-8 victory.

Sylmar wasted no time striking first. Venice’s starter Jace Lindblom struggled to locate the zone, and crafty sophomore Timothy Sepulveda crowded the plate, inducing a hit-by-pitch. After a sacrifice bunt from Mike Andrade moved Sepulveda to second, slugging sophomore Rickee Luevano worked a walk to put two on. A misplayed grounder prevented a double play and extended the inning. Luis Mendoza made the Gondoliers pay with a 2-run double to left-center, giving the Spartans a quick 2-0 lead.

Fresh off shutting out Cleveland in the quarterfinals, junior Alex Martinez took the hill against a Venice offense averaging over nine runs a game. He immediately found himself in hot water after a leadoff walk and a single from the ever-dangerous Canon King. With two on and no outs, A. Martinez buckled down, retiring the next three hitters, including back-to-back strikeouts, to escape unscathed.

In the second, Sylmar extended its lead. Sepulveda doubled home Spartan catcher Diego Martinez, then Andrade ripped a grounder that deflected off the second baseman’s glove and rolled into the outfield, plating another run. Just like that, Sylmar was in control, up 4-0.

But Venice punched back. In the bottom of the second, A. Martinez surrendered a ground-rule double that got Venice on the board. After a heads-up base-running slide dislodged the ball from Sepulveda’s glove to extend the inning, Canon King delivered a clutch single to center to cut the deficit to 4-2. Then came the unthinkable: Sylmar’s sure-handed fielders let two consecutive high but shallow fly balls fall for base hits, allowing Venice to claw all the way back to a 4-4 tie, and steal the momentum.

Surprisingly, Venice kept Lindblom on the mound. He found his groove briefly, retiring the first two batters of the third with ease. But Sylmar lived up to its Spartan namesake, rallying with three consecutive 2-out singles by Diego Martinez, Victor Espinosa, and Alex Martinez, reclaiming the lead at 6-4.

In the home half, Venice threatened again. With two on and two outs, Coach Rivera kept betting on A. Martinez despite his rising pitch count. The gamble paid off. Martinez notched another strikeout, stranding the runners and preserving Sylmar’s two-run cushion.

Pitching settled for both sides through the middle innings, but in the fifth, Sylmar’s Diego Martinez stole second on a passed ball and stretched it to third, taking advantage of CSUN’s deep backstop. Victor Espinosa followed with a sac fly to make it 7-4.

But in the bottom half, Venice sparked back. Xander Lippman led off with a no-doubt solo shot to left that cut the deficit to 7-5. A. Martinez hit the next batter, yet Rivera left him in. In what would have been the play of the game, catcher Diego Martinez showed Spartan grit, taking a foul ball to the thigh then moments later backpicked a Gondolier at first base to end any further threat and re-energize his Spartans.

With a 7-5 lead, Sylmar finally turned to Luis Mendoza, but the reliable low-baller struggled to adjust to an umpire with a high strike zone. Venice’s Canon King slapped his fourth hit, sparking a rally that tied the game 7-7.

After Sylmar went quietly in the seventh, Mendoza escaped a jam, sending the game to extras. The eighth inning brought fireworks.

Venice ace Noel Moreno Jr., who had pitched the Gondoliers with a complete game masterpiece in the quarterfinals, entered in the sixth and tamed Sylmar’s bats for two innings, ran into trouble after Alonso Pedron broke through with a one-out single. He advanced to third on a passed ball and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch, sending the Spartan fans into a frenzy. But Sylmar would strand two runners and go into the bottom half clinging to a one-run lead.

Mendoza came out for a third inning of relief, Rivera’s lone misstep of the game. After a misjudged fly ball to right got the tying run to third base, Canon King, already 4-for-4, slapped his fifth hit of the night: a double over the third base bag to tie the game at 8.

Junior Isaiah Guzman relieved Mendoza and promptly loaded the bases with no outs. With King on third representing the winning run, Jesse Dominguez lofted a soft liner just beyond the drawn-in infield, sealing a 9-8 walk-off win and sending Venice to Dodger Stadium.

Rivera reflected after the game, “We knew coming in that it was going to be a dogfight. They’re the number one seed for a reason, the way they can swing the bats. I thought (Alex Martinez) was going to give us the best opportunity to win the ballgame. I tried to keep him out there as long as possible, but in the first inning he threw twenty-some-odd pitches. That kinda hurt.”

Despite the tough loss, Rivera praised his team’s resilience—especially his seniors. “Their effort, day in and day out… I’m not surprised by us being here. It all starts with the work they put in from the time they get here as ninth graders.” And it showed. Sylmar proved once again that Rivera and his Spartans are a force to be reckoned with in the city.