FULLERTON – All losses hurt.
Some are excruciatingly painful, like Laguna Beach’s loss Saturday night in the CIF Southern Section baseball finals.
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The Breakers lost to Glendora, 3-2, in nine innings in the Division 4 championship game at Cal State Fullerton’s Goodwin Field.
Glendora’s Santiago Garza hit a two-out base hit to drive in John Seader from second base for the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Laguna Beach starting pitcher Aaron Crosby throws to home plate during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game against Glendora in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Laguna Beach outfielder Otis Boultinghouse dives safely back to first base during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game against Glendora in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Glendora infielder Santiago Garza slides safely into second base, avoiding a tag from Laguna Beach second baseman Jackson Arrasin, during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Laguna Beach infielder Lincoln Adams bunts during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game against Glendora in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Glendora infielder Santiago Garza slides into home plate to tie the game 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, which would eventually lead to extra innings and a Glendora 3-2 victory over Laguna Beach, during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Glendora starting pitcher Tanner Grable throws to home plate during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game against Laguna Beach in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Glendora shortstop John Seader gets safely to first base, just in time to avoid being tagged by Laguna Beach first baseman ackson Arrasin, during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Laguna Beach shortstop Lincoln Adams throws to first base after tagging out Glendora shortstop John Seader at second during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Glendora shortstop Cody Baeza tags Laguna Beach outfielder Otis Boultinghouse as he tries to slide into second base during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Glendora players celebrate as they beat Laguna Beach 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, with a walk-off single by Santiago Garza, during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Glendora players celebrate as they beat Laguna Beach 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, with a walk-off single by Santiago Garza, during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Glendora players celebrate with their CIF-SS championship trophy as they beat Laguna Beach 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, with a walk-off single by Santiago Garza, during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Glendora players celebrate as infielder Santiago Garza slides into home plate to tie the game 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, which would eventually lead to extra innings and a Glendora 3-2 victory over Laguna Beach, during the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game in Fullerton on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Glendora (20-11) won the Division 3 championship last season.
It was Laguna Beach’s second appearance in a CIF-SS baseball final. The Breakers won a CIF-SS title in 2016.
The season continues for Laguna Beach (20-12) and Glendora next week with the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs. The regional brackets will be released Sunday afternoon.
Laguna Beach junior Dylan Yencho drove in both runs for the Breakers, giving him a team-high 30 RBIs for the season.
Yencho also was the pitcher who gave up Glendora’s ninth-inning run.
The Breakers would not have been playing in a championship game without Yencho, as Breakers coach Ryan Belanto wanted to make clear.
“Yencho has been lights out, a great competitor for us,” Belanto said. “I thought he did a great job. He left one up and gave up one extra hit, and that’s how it happens.”
That one extra hit was the Garza sharp single to left field.
Yencho entered the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with Glendora runners on first and second base with no outs. He retired the three batters he faced in the inning to quell that threat.
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Yencho struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth before Seeders base hit, his third of the game, was misplayed in the outfield, enabling Seeders to advance to second base and set up Garza’s winning hit.
Laguna Beach ace Branson Wade, a senior right-hander, had pitched six scoreless innings Tuesday in a 2-1 win over Grand Terrace in the semifinals, so he had a limited pitch count Saturday. Wade replaced starter Aaron Crosby to start the fourth inning and in his four innings struck out five to move his season total to 110 strikeouts.
Yencho replaced Wade in the eighth inning.
Laguna Beach took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Lincoln Adams reached on a fielder’s choice, an errant pickoff at first base allowed Adams to take second base, and Yencho’s single drove in Adams.
Glendora tied the game in its half of the first inning. Tartans leadoff batter Riley Cooper sent a drive into right-center field for a double. Cooper advanced to third base on an error and scored on a fielder’s choice to make it 1-1.
Yencho’s second RBI, this one on a double to left field to drive in Adams in the top of the fifth inning, put the Breakers back on top, 2-1.
Glendora tied it again, 2-2, in the bottom of the sixth. Santiago Garza started the inning with a walk. Aidan Yamazaki’s single put Garza on second base, and Garza scored from there on Jude Garcia’s single.
Tartans pitching retired 13 consecutive Laguna Beach batters, starting in the fifth inning, with Glendora’s Sebastian Lawrence throwing three hitless innings in that stretch.
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