SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES : 3-A : Eric Brooks Pitches and Bats La Mirada Past El Toro, 8-4

El Toro High School opened play in its Southern Section 3-A championship baseball game Saturday at Anaheim Stadium much the same way it began play in the 1988 season. . . .very slowly.

But after being shut out for six innings by La Mirada’s ace pitcher, Eric Brooks, El Toro finished with the same flourish it demonstrated in reaching the finals of the single-elimination tournament.

Unfortunately, El Toro’s final rally in a season of comebacks fell short in an 8-4 loss to the Matadors. The Chargers, who had to win a wild-card game just to reach the playoffs, finished 18-14.

La Mirada’s first baseball title in the school’s 28-year history could be summed up in one word: Brooks. Brooks (15-1) struck out 9 and allowed only 3 hits until the seventh inning.

Brooks also wasn’t too shabby at the plate. He tripled, doubled and singled and also drove in two runs. He hit a ground-rule double near the 404-foot sign in center field and his triple short-hopped the 386-foot sign in right-center field.

El Toro made the game intersting by collecting six hits off Brooks in the seventh inning to avoid being shut out. Until the seventh, El Toro’s only serious threat came in the fifth inning when Adam Brass and Sean Drinkwater hit two-out singles but were stranded when Dave Nemeth struck out.

Brooks opened the third inning with a ground-rule double and before the inning ended the Matadors (22-6-1) had used four hits and two El Toro errors to take a 3-0 lead. Brooks also keyed a three-run sixth inning with a triple that drove in two runs and entered the final inning with an 8-0 lead.

When El Toro opened the seventh with two consecutive hits, La Mirada Coach Tony Corrente said he knew the Chargers would not go quietly. They didn’t, sending 10 batters to the plate before losing.