CCS BASEBALL: Chargers come from behind to shock Cougars

Eighth-seeded Leland High scored seven unanswered runs to stun No. 9 Christopher High 7-3 in a Central Coast Section Division II first round baseball matchup Thursday in San Jose.
The Cougars tallied three times in the top of the first, but did little else on offense, sitting on that cushion until the Chargers began to chip away. A run in the fourth made it 3-1 and two more tied matters in the fifth.
A sloppy sixth inning set the table for Leland’s game-changing frame.
Four Cougars errors, plus a call that did not go Christopher’s way on a pickoff play, aided in the Chargers’ charge into the lead.
“We had a guy out on a perfectly executed play at second and he was called safe,” CHS manager Ryan Dequin said. “That was crucial. But you can’t change it and (Leland) did what they needed to do to win after that call.”
Leland went on to score four times to take its 7-3 advantage.
Ryan Fredricks and Kevin Willard each singled home runs for CHS in the first. Nick Cordova chased home the third with a sacrifice fly.
“We had our opportunities – bases loaded in the fifth,” Dequin said. “They put in their No. 1-guy and we didn’t do much after that.”
As a result, CHS’s (19-9) season comes to an end, while Leland (16-11) advances to the quarterfinals.
“The guys still had a successful season – making it to the first playoffs,” Dequin said. “It was an honor to coach them through this.”