BELLFLOWER – The St. John Bosco baseball team defeated Villa Park 7-4 Thursday to advance to the CIF Southern California Division I Regional final.

Noah Everly led Bosco (29-4) by going 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs. Jaden Jackson also went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

Cravin Cervantes started the game, pitching three innings, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out two.

Brayden Krakowski pitched two and a third scoreless-innings in relief. Jack Champlin earned the save pitching a scoreless seventh inning.

Coach Andy Rojo attributes Bosco’s success to its experience under pressure.

”The last two years we’ve played some tight games,” Rojo said. “I think this season we’ve had about 12 one-run games and multiple two-run games so they’re used to it, they have a lot of confidence.”

With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the third, Jackson and Everly hit back-to-back RBI doubles. Jackson’s drove in Aaron Garcia and Everly’s drove in Jackson and James Clark for a 4-1 Bosco lead.

Everly then scored from third base on a wild pitch to up the lead to 5-1.

Jackson wanted to match Villa Park’s intensity.

“I think I just feed off their energy,” Jackson said. “They are a high energy team and that’s what makes it special for me, that’s what gets me riled up.”

Villa Park (25-8) countered in the top of the fourth scoring on an RBI single by Nate Lewis. He later scored from third on a bases-loaded double play to cut the Bosco lead to 5-3.

Villa Park would get within a run later in the inning on a controversial play.

Austin Park, hit a line drive over first base that skipped off the first base umpire and into right field. The ball was ruled fair and the umpires met to determine if Gunner Santillo, the runner at third before the hit, should score.

Ultimately Santillo was allowed to score bringing Villa Park within one, 5-4.

Villa Park coach Burt Call said he told his team to keep its composure after going down 5-1.

“I just told them to stay calm and keep pressure on, make sure you get quality ABs and they did that,” Call said. “They got us back in the game.”

Lewis led Villa Park at the plate, going 1 for 2 with an RBI and reaching on an error. He also scored two runs. Aidan Young went 2 for 4 with a double.

Jack McGuire pitched four innings, giving up five runs in the losing effort.

Bosco added two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly from Champlin and an RBI single by Aiden Olguin before Champlin’s scoreless seventh for a 7-4 win.

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