Central’s late surge falls short in 5-3 loss to Foothills Christian

Spartans round out season and incredible playoff run in semifinals

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) - The Central Spartans’ postseason run came to an end Wednesday afternoon with a 5-3 loss to Foothills Christian in a winner-take-all CIF San Diego Section Division IV semifinal at Hal Church Field.

After falling 4-2 to the Knights one day earlier in the double-elimination bracket, the Spartans needed a win to keep their season alive and advance to the championship series. Instead, Foothills Christian secured its spot in the title round against Francis Parker behind a dominant performance from junior pitcher Johannes Jansen-Granillo.

Jansen-Granillo tossed a complete game and struck out six batters while also contributing offensively for the Knights.

Central starter Chris Curiel kept the game scoreless early, striking out a batter in the top of the second inning. Granillo answered with a strikeout of his own later in the frame as both pitchers settled in.

Foothills Christian broke through in the third inning after Granillo tripled to lead off the frame and later scored on a passed ball for the game’s first run. The Knights added two more runs in the inning to take a 3-0 lead.

Foothills Christian extended its advantage in the fifth when freshman Tyler Burrell hit a single past the infield to drive in senior captain Jack Morgan, making it 4-0.

The Spartans showed signs of life late in the game. Trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Curiel ripped a ball down the third-base line that took an awkward hop past Burrell and rolled into the outfield, allowing David Madero and Angel Carrillo to score and cut the deficit to two.

Central, however, could not complete the comeback as the Knights held on for the 5-3 victory.

Despite the season-ending loss, Central coach Gene Martin said the Spartans plan to use the playoff experience as motivation moving forward.

“We want to build off of this and say, ‘We got a taste of it,’” Martin said. “We had the opportunity to come out here and fight and show that we can play. We didn’t just roll over, so we want to take that into next year and say, ‘Let’s not wait till the end. Let’s start this from the beginning and start a culture of battling from start to finish.’”

The Spartans finished their season one win shy of the Division IV championship series, while Foothills Christian advanced to face Francis Parker for the section title.