Jake Brooks bounces back as Fountain Valley takes sole possession of third place with win at Edison

One week ago, Fountain Valley High turned to Jake Brooks with the game on the line against Huntington Beach, the top-ranked baseball team in the state at the time.

The Barons held a one-run lead in the sixth, but the go-ahead run stood at the plate. Brooks gave up a two-run home run to the first batter he faced, and another the following inning, as a monstrous upset slipped out of their grasp.

Despite the setback, Fountain Valley coach Deric Yanagisawa instantly remarked that he would send his talented sophomore back to the mound again if a similar scenario presented itself.

This opportunity arose on Friday, as the Barons played at Edison in a game to determine sole possession of third-place in the Sunset League. Up one run with no outs in the bottom of the fifth and the tying run on first base, Yanagisawa turned to Brooks.

The UCLA commit rewarded his coach’s confidence.

Brooks retired two batters, but loaded the bases on a walk and an infield hit. He then proceeded to escape the inning on a groundout, marking the first of seven consecutive batters retired to close out a 3-1 Fountain Valley victory.

With only three automatic CIF Southern Section playoff berths coming out of the league, the Barons (16-10, 7-6 in league) now control their Division 2 postseason destiny. They’re a game up on the Chargers (14-13, 6-7) with two games left in the regular season.

Fountain Valley, which plays fifth-place Marina (10-19, 3-10) twice next week, is only one game back of second-place Los Alamitos (16-10, 8-5). Huntington Beach (24-4, 12-1) clinched the outright title with a 6-5 win at Los Alamitos on Friday.

“Anytime you have these young pitchers, they’re going to face their ups and downs,� Yanagisawa said. “You show that you aren’t going to lose faith in [Brooks]. He’s been thrown into some tough situations, and today was no different. He works hard, he grinds, and we need him. He’s a huge part of our pitching staff.�

Brooks, who struck out four of the final eight batters he faced, credits the performance to his ability to turn the page from last week’s letdown. He pitched three innings to earn the win and get the Barons closer to qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in three years.

“My parents and I had a conversation last night about how I’m going to have to really step up this game,� said Brooks, who also went two for four with a double. “I knew I was probably going to go into pitch, and needed to have a strong mindset. Forget about last week, that happened, it’s baseball. I just had to flush it.�

Jake Bitzer got the scoring started for Fountain Valley in the top of the second, driving in starting pitcher Nate Wilson on an RBI double. Edison appeared to answer back in the bottom half of the inning, with runners on first and second with no outs, only to let the opportunity evaporate in one at-bat.

Matt Swartz was thrown out attempting to take third on a wild pitch, Caden Aoki was picked off at second, and moments later, Blake Morton was retired on strikes.

The Chargers tied the game up in the fourth, with Aoki driving in Spencer Serven for their lone run. But Fountain Valley would reclaim the lead for good in the next inning on an RBI double from Shea Adame.

With two games next week, both against Huntington Beach, ranked No. 3 in the state, the Chargers are in a tough spot to make the Division 1 playoffs.

“We did this last year, too, so I think the confidence is going to be there even though we didn’t play that well today,� said Edison coach Cameron Chinn, whose team finished last year strong and reached the postseason. “We have confidence in each other as teammates to put a game like today behind us.�

JOSH CRISWELL is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @joshccriswell