GOLETA - Within their respective leagues, pitchers Jeana Carrillo of Lompoc and Justine Bosio of Dos Pueblos are simply the best.

So when the two stalwarts met Friday night in the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs, goose eggs were expected: A matchup of the Los Padres League's underdog (Lompoc) versus the Channel League's finest (Dos Pueblos).

As of the fifth inning, however, the bats were winning.

Casually late, the duel made its grand appearance in the sixth, raging on past the seventh and into the 12th - a battle of attrition waged on an exhaustingly hot afternoon before a brimming crowd.

The “Bend But Never Break” Braves shocked everyone.

They escaped jams in the sixth, the seventh, the eighth, the ninth, the 10th, the 11th and beyond. They escaped Goleta with a heart-pounding first round playoff win, serving Dos Pueblos a wrenching loss 4-3 in twelve innings.

“We came into this thing with a third-place finish, but we can win the championship,” said Lompoc coach Alfred DiMaria, referencing his team's finish in the LPL. “I couldn't ask for a better team effort. Defense. Timely hitting. And great pitching.”

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The Braves advanced to the second round of the Division IV playoffs, where they will host top-seeded La Quinta at 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday. La Quinta beat Magnolia 15-0.

Both arms tossed more than 130 pitches, the twelve frames pitched by Carrillo besting her 11 innings thrown in an upset win over St. Joseph in the regular season. Carrillo entered the game sporting a 1.096 ERA with 12 complete games and a late-season streak of five straight scoreless outings. Bosio entered as the Channel League MVP, headed to St. Mary's next year.

Before the Braves took the field in the 11th, DiMaria made Carrillo a promise.

“If you go one more inning, we'll score for you,” he said.

In the twelfth, Leanna “Jeter” Corral led off with a hit into shallow centerfield, a sure single. But Corral's alert move to take second base after the ball was bobbled turned out to be monumental. Paty Martinez - looking for redemption after her dropped ball in the ninth nearly spelled disaster - bunted Corral to third base. Dana Campitelli's roller up the middle weaseled its way between Bosio's legs and scored the winning run.

In the bottom of the twelfth, Martinez fielded the final grounder, tagging a runner en route to second before throwing to first to set off the celebration: One that included a cold-water shower for DiMaria.

Beyond the fourth inning, there was never an easy frame for Carrillo and her Cardiac Kids. The Braves were down 3-1 entering that inning, before Courtney Dosa let loose on a first-pitch offering from Bosio, sending it just over the centerfield wall for a two-run home run.

“It felt like butter,” she said of the hit. “Her (Bosio's) speed helped on the home run.”

Then the duel began, Lompoc's defense more than ready for the necessary work to backup Carrillo.

In the fifth, first baseman Campitelli snagged a hard hit ball down the first-base line to save a run from scoring.

In the sixth, Dos Pueblos' Janelle Wong - Bosio's reliable battery mate headed to Santa Barbara City College for both hoops and softball - led off the inning with a double. And Brittany King's shot to center in the next at bat appeared to be a potential game-winner, until centerfielder Elicity Fabing went to her knees to make the catch - again saving a run.

In the seventh, another Charger reached base, setting up Bosio at the plate. She scorched a ball right to Martinez. Of Martinez, “She's always on the ground. She's never afraid to get dirty,” Carrillo said.

The eighth began with what appeared to be a “sayonara” home run for the Chargers, instead a long fly ball out.

The ninth, however, brought the most drama. A one-out single soon became troublesome, even after Carrillo fielded a bunt and threw to secondbase for the second out. Martinez let a routine flyball pop out of her glove, giving Dos Pueblos ducks on the pond (first and third).

And then Bosio stepped up to the plate. Her grounder was mishandled by Dosa at third, but Lompoc's strong-armed senior still made the throw to first for another Braves' escape.

The 10th again kicked off in heart-pounding fashion. On the first pitch, Wong blasted a shot to left field, a few feet from a walk-off home run. It instead was the first out.

It was similar to the 11th-inning scare, another bomb that brought Charger fans to their feet in anticipation. That one went for a long putout in center.

And then the breakthrough on offense finally came for Lompoc.

“We were worried that the heat would get to Jeana,” DeMaria said. “We had ice and towels ready. We had Courtney (Dosa) and Brianna (Vickery) warming up in case she faltered. I kept asking, ‘Do you have one more in you?' She said ‘Yes.'”

Carrillo, despite the heat - which prompted kids to watch from under the press table and others to find their own sanctuaries of shade - rendered the 11-1, 16-10 Chargers helpless.

“Our team is really close. I do it for me and also the team,” Carrillo said. “My defense is always there to back me up.”

Rowland 3, St. Joseph 2

ROWLAND HEIGHTS - Center fielder Mariah Cochiolo did her best to help her team advance in Division IV, but the Knights' season is over at 16-13 after a first-round loss in 10 innings.

Cochiolo went 4-for-5. She robbed Rowland of home runs twice late - and threw a runner out at home both times after making the catch.

Nika Lopez-Del Marco singled home the winning run for the San Antonio League runner-up. Michaela Valencia tripled and Caitlin Voss doubled for the Knights, who were the Los Padres League runners-up for the third straight year. St. Joseph junior pitcher Kailey Snyder struck out 15.

In other Division IV first-round action, Mission Hills Alemany shut out Morro Bay 9-0. PAC-7 League champion Paso Robles advanced in Division II by edging Alta Loma 6-5.

May 17, 2008