Being section foes the past few years, the baseball teams at California and Bentworth are no strangers to each other on the diamond. Many games have been hotly contested and memorable for both sides.

Monday's WPIAL quarterfinal game had all the makings of another Bearcats-Trojans showdown.

Tied 6-6 going into the top of the seventh inning, fans from both teams were prepared for yet another memorable ending.

However, it would only be memorable for the Trojans, and forgettable for the Bearcats.

A two-out, slow-rolling single past the third baseman by senior Mike Britton scored Matt Bakewell to put the Trojans up, 7-6.

If there was any point that the Bearcats wish they had a giant pause button that was it, as the Trojans went on to plate seven more runs in the inning en route to a deceiving, 14-7 win.

"It took us a while, but we rallied from our mistakes," California coach Don Hartman said. "Matt took off for third there on his own, it just worked out that it pulled the third baseman towards the bag and the ball just trickled through."

The next batter, designated hitter Ronnie Baron drilled a 2-run double, plating two more runs. Back-to-back singles by Adam Miller and Dakota Conway, two errors by the Bearcats, and a T.D. Conway triple put the Trojans up by eight in a flash.

Baron went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Dakota Conway and Bakewell each went 3-for-4.

"Both teams really hit the ball well," Bearcats coach Dion Jansante said. "The errors really killed us today. We were still in it, though, and had a chance to win. They just got the clutch hits."

Over the course of the game, the Bearcats committed six errors.

"You know, that's the way baseball is sometimes," Hartman said. "Fortunately, we were able to overcome our mistakes, and take advantage of theirs. We got some clutch hits when we needed them to."

The Trojans took a 3-0 into the bottom of the fifth, but the Bearcats exploded for four runs of their own to take the lead. Sophomore Trevor Wood smacked a two-run double to the right-centerfield gap, after Nick Smydo's RBI single to center.

In the top of the sixth, the Trojans matched the Bearcats, sending eight men to the plate and retaking a 6-4 lead, thanks to a Sean Cotton RBI single and two errors by the Bearcats.

The Bearcats didn't get rattled and fought back to make it 6-6 after Tyler Delval shipped a ground-rule double to left. That hit knocked Cal starter T.D. Conway out of the game, and reliever Tommy Sparrow gave up a RBI single to Adam Bell. Sparrow then lost track of the strike zone and walked three straight batters, including the tying run.

Sam Luketich came into the game to pitch for the Trojans, and got Smydo to hit into a fielder's choice and Bell to fly-out to center.

"Sam did an awesome job," Hartman said. "We were lucky to get out of that inning."

Entering the seventh, Jansante still had Delval on the mound.

"There never was a thought of taking him out," Jansante said. "His pitch count wasn't high, and I think he earned the chance to finish it out. He was pitching well, and the things that didn't go well were things behind him that he couldn't control."

Delval was within one out of finishing it, but the Trojans bats were too much in the seventh.

Even with the loss, Jansante was pleased with the collective body of work of his team.

"We lost seven starters from last year," Jansante said. "Honestly, I didn't expect to go this far. We're still a very young team with a bright future."

With the win, Hartman and the Trojans move on to the WPIAL semifinals to face Neshannock (19-1), a 7-6 winner over Beth-Center. The Lancers have stood in the path of the Trojans before, and have gotten the best of them each time.

"They beat us in the semis last year and in '04," Hartman said of the Lancers. "They're well-coached, they hustle, and they play small ball. We're going to go out there and throw our hat in the ring; they're an outstanding baseball team."

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