FONTANA — Summit senior baseball star Isaac Castanon was scuffling at the plate Friday against rival Kaiser in a Sunkist League game.
Castanon was 0-2 with a walk when he stepped up with two on and two out in the bottom of the seventh. But timing is everything. Castanon’s line drive to left field drove in the winning run from second base in the SkyHawks’ 4-3 walk-off victory against Kaiser.
It was the eighth straight win for Summit (11-3 overall, 1-0 league), whose only losses are to national powerhouse Corona, Centennial and Norco.
Castanon rounded first base after his huge hit and ran halfway to second. By then, the SkyHawks had poured out of the dugout and deluged him, patting him on the back and showering him with water bottles.
“I just wanted to do it for the team,” Castanon said. “We want to win league. My day wasn’t going perfect, but I made it happen.”
Summit scored two runs in the first inning off Kaiser left-handed pitcher Zeke Cortez. Ian Stewart and Kody Smathers pounded consecutive run-scoring doubles.
Stewart’s hit came after he fouled six consecutive pitches.
“He threw me a change-up,” Stewart said. “I was sitting on change-up. I got it and it felt great. I looked at the dugout and everyone was hyping me up.”
Stewart, a junior catcher, had a busy day. Besides his clutch hit, he picked a Kaiser runner off second base to help stymie a potential rally and he took a nasty foul tip below the belt but stayed in the game.
“It hurt,” Stewart said. “I was on the ground for a while. But I’m used to it.”
Stewart also hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning to give Summit a 3-0 lead.
Kaiser (7-5, 1-1) rallied to tie the game in the sixth against relievers David Tamayo and Mario Flores.
Cortez’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly moved Kaiser to within 3-1. One out later, Jaidyn Brock’s two-run single to left tied the score.
Unfortunately for Kaiser, a non-player interfered with the ball following Summit’s late throw home and Brock was called out after he reached second base. The bizarre play prevented Kaiser from doing further damage.
“Our kid ran out on the field and (the umpire) made the right call,” veteran Kaiser coach Mike Spinuzzi said. “We messed up. We can’t be out on the field on a live ball.”
The stage was nearly set for Castanon’s seventh-inning heroics.
A walk to Flores, a sacrifice bunt by Jason Magdaleno, an intentional walk to Noah Garcia and a strikeout preceded Castanon’s laser to left.
The SkyHawks played without coach Samuel Lopez, who got ejected from the previous game for arguing. He had to sit out one game per CIF Southern Section rules.
Dennis Duggins, one of the assistant coaches who filled the void, was pleased with Castanon.
“Isaac made an adjustment, and that’s what he’s good at doing,” Duggins said. “He’s an excellent hitter and that’s who I want at the plate in that situation.”
Kaiser’s Jaidyn Brooks led all hitters with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate. Brooks, a sophomore, is was one of seven underclassmen starting for the Cats.
Flores got the win in relief for Summit. Cortez went the distance on the mound for Kaiser, yielding five hits and four runs, three of which were earned.
