Baseball: Birmingham tries to pull off upset

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

For the first time since 1969, Lake Balboa Birmingham has reached the City Section Division I semifinals, and two unsung players have made major contributions.

Danny Gomez, a junior who started the season on the bench, has become a dependable hitter for the Patriots playing first base and second base.

And Nick Acosta has taken over at shortstop, stabilizing the Patriots’ infield.

“He’s done an unbelievable job playing short,” Coach Matt Mowry said.

Birmingham faces top-seeded Chatsworth in a 3 p.m. semifinal Wednesday at USC. Only two years ago, Birmingham was 2-24.

A big reason the Patriots have advanced this far is that pitchers Kevin Torres and Pedro Santoyo have given them an effective one-two punch.

-- Eric Sondheimer