A crowd of 174 people — the largest all year — filled the bleachers to watch Bonita Vista (6) take on Coronado (11) for a lower-bracket CIF game at BVH Tuesday, May 14. After 6.5 innings, the Barons came out with a 7-3 win and the announcer’s box played “Victorious” by Panic! At The Disco in celebration.

The teams previously faced off this season in March, which resulted in a 9-0 shutout win for BVH. Going into yesterday’s game, the tension between the teams was high.

“They kind of felt sour about the last game. They were talking a lot of crap coming in,” senior and pitcher DiMaggio Cazares (6) said.

The Coronado Islanders started strong with a hit on the very first pitch of the game, getting their batter to second base. The next two batters both earned singles, putting pressure on the Barons by bringing the score to 0-1. Eventually, a third out was made by the catch of a fly ball and BVH earned their turn at bat.

As the top of BVH’s batting lineup practiced their swing, “One Way or Another” by Blondie sounded from the box’s speakers, rooting the Barons on to make a comeback.

As the BVH’s first hitter stepped up to bat, the Barons in dugout barked in encouragement. The result was a strikeout, followed by a walk and another out.

Senior and designated hitter Omar Vega (18) turned the tables with a hit to centerfield, placing him on first, allowing him to steal second despite the Islanders’ pitcher checking the runner twice. After, senior and catcher Raymundo “Rumble” Reyes (15) hit a home run — his first of the season.

“I was excited,” Reyes said. “I finally did something at the plate.”

At the end of the first inning, the score was 3-1, with BVH in the lead.

In the second, Coronado had a quick at-bat that ended in a double play by the Barons and no new runs for the Islanders. The announcer’s box played “Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer.

However, the Islanders scored again in the third and fourth, meeting BVH’s score of three runs. The Barons quickly responded at the bottom of the fourth to regain their lead with a score of 4-3.

In the fifth, BVH put a new pitcher on the mound, Cazares who prevented the Islanders from putting any more scores on the board for the remainder of the game.

“The first inning that I came in was big, I faced the top of the lineup, which are the best hitters. Then I got through them and then from there on the bottom of the lineup was a little bit easier to get out,” Cazares said. “It also helped that we put up some more runs to give me some run support.”

This strategy and effort, according to senior and shortstop Alec Bruce (2), is what helped get the Barons a win.

“We came in thinking: don’t take the team light and don’t settle for anything,” Bruce said. “Oftentimes we get on the front end we let off the gas but today’s we had the mindset of pedal to the metal and just keep putting up runs with what we can.”

The Barons will now advance to a double-elimination set of games, starting with Sage Creek High School tomorrow, Wednesday May 15.

“We’re gonna have a competition tomorrow. We’re gonna have a competition,” Reyes said. “Obviously we expect to win, we just have to come out with our A-game again.”

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Update: The Barons won their first double-elimination game against Sage Creek High School yesterday, May 15. They will play Point Loma High School on Friday. Regardless of the outcome, they have advanced to the next round of the bracket, which they will play on Saturday.