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| Tuesday, May 26 2009 10:48 PM
Last Updated Monday, Jun 08 2009 06:23 PM
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Jenn Ireland / The Californian Stockdale's Ryan Atherly keeps his foot on second as he reaches for a throw from the catcher in an effort to tag out a Bullard High player as he stole second base during their game Tuesday evening at Stockdale High School. Stockdale won 4-3.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Stockdale's Ryan Atherly keeps his foot on second as he reaches for a throw from the catcher in an effort to tag out a Bullard High player as he stole second base during their game Tuesday evening at Stockdale High School. Stockdale won 4-3.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Stockdale's Scott Denesha, number 24, gets high fives from his teammates after scoring a critical run to turn the game in his team's favor while playing Bullard High Tuesday evening at Stockdale High School. Stockdale won 4-3.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Stockdale's Ryan Atherly keeps his foot on second as he reaches for a throw from the catcher in an effort to tag out a Bullard High player as he stole second base during their game Tuesday evening at Stockdale High School. Stockdale won 4-3.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Stockdale's pitcher Kristopher Hobson throws a pitch during their game against Bullard High School Tuesday evening at Stockdale High School. Stockdale won 4-3.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Stockdale's Scott Denesha, number 24, gets high fives from his teammates after scoring a critical run to turn the game in his team's favor while playing Bullard High Tuesday evening at Stockdale High School. Stockdale won 4-3.
Jenn Ireland / The Californian Stockdale's pitcher KC Hobson throws a pitch during their game against Bullard High School Tuesday evening at Stockdale High School. Stockdale won 4-3.
A four-year varsity player at Stockdale, Scott Denesha has hit his share of home runs 19 at last count. But few if any were as well-timed as the one he hit in Tuesday's Central Section Division I semifinal.
Last year's Southwest Yosemite League co-player of the year shook off a couple of bad swings and a two-strike count, and lined a two-run home run to right field in the sixth that ignited the No. 4 Mustangs from a three-run deficit to a 4-3 victory over No. 8 Fresno-Bullard to advance to the Division I title game for the second straight season.
"(The pitcher) was hitting his spots and I have to tip my hat to him," said Denesha, who singled in his first at-bat and then struck out looking to end the third. "But I got lucky that last at-bat. That pitch was way away, I just knew I had to battle up there and do as well as I could."
Stockdale, which defeated Clovis in the final last year, will play at the winner of today's other semifinal between No. 3 Clovis and No. 2 Clovis West on Friday.
"Scotty's always come up with the big play," Stockdale coach Dan Lemon said.
"He had a tough AB in his second (at-bat) and then his third AB he hits a bomb with two strikes. It's just a testament of the character he's got."
Denesha's ninth homer of the season, which led to a four-run inning, helped support dominant pitching by left-hander K.C. Hobson.
Hobson shook off a shaky start and mowed through the Knights, striking out 13 in a 120-pitch outing that had several in attendance shaking their heads.
"In the first inning I wasn't staying back and I was rushing a little bit," Hobson said. "After that I calmed down and got into a rhythm again. I was just trying to hit my spots. I didn't want them to get the ball in the air; just get a ground ball. It worked out well and my defense played a helluva game."
The 6-foot-3 senior allowed just six hits, two after the second inning, hit a batter and walked four. He struck out the side in the second and third innings, and every Bullard batter at least once except clean-up hitter Aaron Weimer, who lined out to center field to end the game.
"(In the first inning) it didn't look like he was real loose," Lemon said. "And then it looked like he settled in and he just dominated from then on.
When he gets his breaking pitch over with a 90-mph fastball it's just scary; that's really tough to control."
Bullard (21-11), the County/Metro League champion which upset top-seeded Clovis Buchanan on Friday, made the most of three singles, a walk and a wild pitch to score two runs in the first off Hobson. The Knights led 3-0 after an unearned run in the fifth in support of starter Matt Meyer.
Meyer limited the Mustangs (25-5) to just three hits through five innings and finished with four strikeouts and no walks.
"It was amazing," Lemon said. "We were sitting there, and every inning, we're one or two pitches away, going 'All right, where's the big hit?' We've relied on that all year and it just wasn't coming through.
"I give credit to their pitcher. He got us on our front side, he was throwing the off-speed pitches for strikes."
But a pair of errors, including one on a long fly ball down the left field
line off the bat of Kyle Desimone, proved to be his undoing. Denesha
followed with a two-run home run, Hobson then singled to center field and scored when Weimer through wildly to first after fielding Philip Valos' chopper to shortstop. Valos wound up on third and scored the go-ahead run on an infield single by J.D. Reed.
"It's going to be fun," said Hobson of playing in the title game. "Last year was a great feeling. We'd love to be at home, but going up to Clovis and try to steal one there would be an even better feeling."
