Fountain Valley Takes Down El Segundo, Sets Sight on Second Round (2025)

Fountain Valley – Tom Hiroyasu Stadium

Fountain Valley earned a hard-fought 4-2 win over El Segundo on Friday afternoon to advance to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division playoffs. In a tight, well-pitched game, it was the Barons’ three-run outburst in the bottom of the fifth that ultimately proved to be the difference.

Fountain Valley got on the board early. In the bottom of the first, after Michael Patterson reached on a walk and moved around the bases, Tyler Peshke brought him home with a groundout to short, giving the Barons a quick 1-0 lead. The Eagles responded a couple innings later in the top of the third. Chase Mattoon advanced to second after a wild pitch, and Logan Brooks delivered a sharp single to center that brought him in to tie the game at 1-1.

El Segundo grabbed momentum in the top of the fifth when Ben Lee lofted a sacrifice fly to center, allowing Reed Abrams to tag and score from third to give the Eagles their first lead of the game, 2-1. But the advantage didn’t last long.

In the bottom of the inning, the Barons strung together quality at-bats to swing the game back in their favor. Josh Grack lined a single to center to bring home Peshke and tie the score at two. Then, Isaac Lomeli ripped a single to right field, scoring Grack and moving another runner into scoring position. Moments later, Drake Robinson hit a fielder’s choice that allowed Lomeli to race home for the third run of the inning and give Fountain Valley a 4-2 edge.

That three-run rally gave the Barons all the run support they’d need, as their pitching staff held El Segundo scoreless the rest of the way. With the victory, Fountain Valley moves one step closer to a deep playoff run, showing resilience and poise in a pressure-packed first-round matchup. The Barons executed in key moments, capitalized on their scoring opportunities, and got it done with contributions throughout the lineup.

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Pitching

Nathan Martinez earned the win in relief for Fountain Valley, tossing two innings and allowing just one hit and one unearned run while striking out two. Starter Logan Hunt was strong over four frames, surrendering two hits and one run with three walks and one strikeout. Peshke came in to shut the door in the seventh for the save, retiring all three batters he faced with two strikeouts.

Samual Forthuber took the loss for El Segundo, allowing three runs on five hits across four innings while walking five. Caleb Kimm and Porter Robbins each pitched an inning out of the bullpen.

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Batting

Michael Patterson and Isaac Lomeli led the offensive charge for Fountain Valley with two hits apiece. Peshke, Grack, Lomeli, and Robinson each drove in one run for the Barons, who finished with eight total hits.

El Segundo managed three hits in the loss, one each from Brooks, Austin Hohman, and Abrams. Brooks and Lee were responsible for the two RBIs for the Eagles.

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What’s next

With the win, Fountain Valley moves on to the second round against Trabuco Hills High School and will look to keep its playoff run alive. El Segundo’s season comes to a close with the loss, ending their playoff hopes after a hard-fought battle on the road.