Frankford reaches Pub final with win over Central

Hector Cerda isn't quite sure how he'll sit through eight periods of classes at Frankford High School Wednesday.

See, the Pioneers pitcher was the hero in Frankford's 9-3 Public League semifinal thumping of rival Central Tuesday, on an inferno that was Rich Ashburn Field.

Now he and the rest of Pioneers eagerly await 3:30 Wednesday afternoon, when they'll return to Ashburn Field to meet Thomas Edison, in what will be their eighth trip to the Pub championship in 9 years.

"I don't think it's possible to pay attention, I am just going to be looking at the clock all day, waiting for the bell to ring," Cerda joked. "I am so excited for my team and that I was able to get the job done. The heat made it tough, though, really tough."

Cerda went 6 innings in the searing heat, hurling 98 pitches before he gave up three earned runs in the seventh inning, before he finished the afternoon in rightfield. In a little more than 2 hours, Cerda hurled 62 strikes and struck out six - including two nasty fastballs that found a pair of Central batters looking. At the plate, he proved just as menacing, with three bases-on-balls (including an intentional walk in the sixth), a hit and a run scored.

Oh by the way, in his three seasons at Frankford (13-2), this was Cerda's first time pitching in a league semifinal.

"It was really hot, man," Cerda said. "After every inning, I kept putting a cold wet towel on my head to keep me fresh, but I didn't want to come out. I wanted to get the complete game, but, after a while, I started getting tired and [Central] just started seeing my pitches."

Central (10-5) finally got to Cerda, busting him for three runs in the final frame, including a triple from pitcher Mike Cavallaro (1-for-4, RBI, run). Central's relief pitcher, Pete Rowe, also belted an RBI double to put the game at 9-3 with two outs. By that time, however, the damage, fueled by an afternoon of aggressive baserunning and timely hits, was just about complete, as Brandon Gonzalez came on to allow just one hit to close out the victory for Frankford.

Aggressive baserunning?

How about seven stolen bases, including three from Ricky Alvarez and a pair from Cerda. Want more? Frankford capitalized on a pair of errors to go up three runs in the third. In all, Frankford scored nine runs on only six hits - only one of which that wasn't a single (Kevin Montero's triple in the sixth).

"They were just better this year," Central coach Rich Weiss said of Frankford. "We'll get them next year; we got them last year [in the Pub championship] and they got us this year. We have freshman and sophomores that can move up to take their place - some of whom already have."

Central will lose three starters off this year's club, and Weiss was optimistic that his returnees won't forget the sour taste in what has become quite the epic battle in Public League baseball.

"These guys wanted this game and they proved it," Frankford coach Juan Namnun said. "What's nice about this team is that we really have an even blend of talent, I do consider us having a couple of upper-level players, but as a unit we probably have seven or eight really good baseball players. In years past, we had a few great players that pulled us through; this year, we ran behind a whole unit as opposed to three or four guys."

And his ace hurler, Cerda?

"The kid's a warrior," Namnun said. "Coming here, he was amped up, and I knew it and we talked about him just settling down and not getting too excited. I mean he pitched a no-hitter earlier this year [against Washington on May 2], so I know he's got it in him. But I told him, 'It's hot, so I may have a short leash with you,' and he just said, 'Coach, I can do it,' so we started a pitch count out, and he just fell a little short, but I can't blame the kid. He goes 6 in 90-degree weather and pitches like that against Central? He's a warrior."

Edison 15, Washington 8: In game 2 at Ashburn Field, Nate Coronado went 3-for-4 with a double, two homers (both over the leftfield fence) and four RBI as the Owls (nee Inventors) advanced to a final for the first time in the program's 55-year history. His brother, Nelson, pitched two perfect relief innings and fanned all six batters. Starter Johnny Pagan struck out seven in four frames. Edison's first three batters, Joshua Fontanez and the Coronados, combined for eight hits and 10 runs scored. For Washington, Dean Grande went 3-for-4 and his two-run single created a 6-6 tie in the fourth.