Brawley walks off El Camino in eighth inning

Wildcats walk off El Camino in Division II play-in game before falling to Helix in first round

BRAWLEY, Calif. (KYMA) - The Brawley Wildcats battled past El Camino Wildcats in dramatic fashion Tuesday night, earning a walk-off 5-4 victory in eight innings during a CIF San Diego Section Division II play-in game at Ed Wiest Field.

Brawley jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning when Dante Lofton delivered a bases-clearing double to deep center field. The hit brought home three runs, including Jaime Pena who slid in safely at the plate to give the Wildcats’ a 3-0 lead.

Starting pitcher Ozzie Villanueva kept El Camino off the scoreboard through the first four innings before the visitors rallied late. El Camino eventually tied the game after scoring four runs over Villanueva’s six innings of work.

With the game tied in the eighth inning, Abraham Fabela delivered the game-winning single to send Brawley into the first round of the Division II playoffs.

Brawley Head Coach Pedro Carranza credited the team’s improvement throughout the season to the players’ commitment and daily effort.

“I think the biggest thing that’s been going right for us is the buy-in from the team,” Carranza said. “The players have really bought into just working to get 1% better every day. Whether it be at practice or when we’re doing our homework, whatever it is we’re doing as a team, we work to get 1% better every day.”

Carranza said the team’s growth has shown on the field as the season progressed.

“We’re a better baseball team today than we were at the beginning of the year,” he said. “For instance, we’re a better baseball team today than we were last week.”

Brawley’s postseason run continued Wednesday with a 9-5 loss to the three-seeded Helix Highlanders in the opening round of the Division II CIF San Diego Section playoffs.

They will take on the Bonita Vista Barons Friday afternoon in a win-or-go-home game.