Peyton Rodgers pitches Torrey Pines past Granite Hills, into CIF San Diego Section Open Division final

Peyton Rodgers has been outstanding all season.

And when his team needed him the most, the San Diego State-bound senior right-hander pitched a four-hit shutout, striking out eight to lead Torrey Pines High to a 3-0 win over Granite Hills in a CIF San Diego Section Open Division elimination game.

The win propels the No-2 seeded Falcons (22-10) into Thursday night’s championship game at USD’s Fowler Field. They’ll face top-seeded Rancho Bernardo, which beat Cathedral Catholic in Wednesday’s “if-necessary” game.

This is the first trip to the championship game for the Falcons since they won it all in 2018. With all four Open Division semifinalists advancing to the Southern California Championships, the season isn’t over for Granite Hills (22-7).

“Honestly, I was struggling with location in the first inning,” said Rodgers. “After that, all the work we’ve put in came together.”

Rodgers needed 100 pitches to blank the Eagles. He struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter while improving his record to 9-3 and lowering his ERA to 1.29.

Rodgers picked a runner off second to halt a Granite Hills rally. He got a fly ball and a strikeout to work out a second-base, one-out situation.
He got a strikeout and a fly ball to right to blunt a second-and-third, one-out jam.

And he retired the last eight batters of the game.

“After that first inning, my location was really good,” Rodgers said. “I was able to work inside effectively. Winning this game, pitching my team into the championship game, means so much.”

Rodgers’ teammates also played great defense behind him. Shortstop Thomas Maher had four assists, two of the spectacular variety.

“Defense seems to mean more in a win-or-go-home game,” Maher said. “I want to make every play, want every ball hit to me. You’re laser-focused in games like this.”

Granite Hills seemed to lose its focus in the sixth inning, committing three errors, leading to all three runs behind tough-luck loser Brenden Lewis.

Lewis, who got the final four outs of Tuesday’s 6-5 win over Torrey Pines to force the elimination game, started on the mound. He retired the first seven batters of the game and had retired eight in a row until Liam Moran got a one-out single in the sixth for Torrey Pines.

That was followed by three straight errors — one on a controversial call at third base — and a Jack Swanberg sacrifice fly, giving Rodgers all the runs he needed.

Rodgers plays center field when he’s not pitching and is the Falcons’ leadoff hitter.

“This was Peyton’s best command all season,” said Torrey Pines coach Chris Possemato. “He was really focused warming up. I knew we’d get his best. He’s one of the best strike throwers in the county (with only 14 walks in 87 innings).

“He was locked in and took his game up another notch.”

Thursday’s championship game will be the third pressure packed contest in a row for both Torrey Pines and Rancho Bernardo.

“We played four days in a row in the Lions Tournament,” Maher said. “When you’re playing for a championship, you really don’t feel tired.

“There is too much on the line to be tired.”