SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO >> JSerra used seven pitchers Thursday to beat Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks 5-4 in the Division I semifinals of the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs at JSerra High.

The Lions beat Notre Dame 3-1 in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 championship game on May 22.

Thursday’s game was not as well-played as the section championship game. The game featured wild pitches, balks, and physical and mental errors by both teams.

“It was an ugly baseball game. It felt like both teams didn’t want to win,” JSerra coach Brett Kay said. “I like our fight. We weren’t very detailed today but we came out on top. Now we have a chance to play the last game of the year and be the first team to win a CIF championship and regional championship.”

JSerra (25-10) will host Huntington Beach Saturday and play for its second consecutive regional championship. Huntington Beach beat JSerra 4-1 earlier this season, but the Lions won the previous five meetings between the teams dating back to 2018.

“We are just going to have fun. We are two teams that know each other pretty well,” Kay said.

“They have some great pitchers, great players and we are excited to play,” Lions sophomore catcher Charlie Caruso said. “I have faith in this team and love playing with these guys.”

Caruso, who was not the team’s starting catcher during the section playoffs, made the biggest play of the game in the top of the sixth inning.

Notre Dame (25-9-1) trailed 5-4 with two outs and runners on the corners. There was a wild pitch and Caruso retrieved the ball quickly and flipped it to pitcher Ben Reimers, who who made the tag at the plate to end the inning and preserve the lead.

“That was the biggest play of the game. That should have been a tie ball game,” Kay said. “He caught great today. He’s a guy that has a big future in our program.”

“The heart was beating really fast,” Caruso said. “When it hit my mask and bounced back, I got lucky. I rushed back, got the ball and thankfully Ben was there and he made a great tag.”

Notre Dame got off to a great start with a leadoff double by Anthony Reveles and a two-run home run by Jack Gurevitch to give the Knights a 2-0 lead.

JSerra got on the board with a run-scoring single by Matt Champion in the second inning. The Lions took the lead in the third inning with a run-scoring single by Brandon Chang and a sacrifice fly by Caruso to take a 3-2 lead.

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The Lions added two more runs in the fourth on a RBI groundout by Jonathan Mendez and a run-scoring single by Dominic Saldino.

Cameron Maloney got the win for JSerra. Casey Coady pitched two scoreless innings and had three strikeouts. Reimers got the save with 1 2/3 perfect innings and three strikeouts.