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1987 Baseball

Roster

Don Unruh
Wayne Heft
Jay Acocks
Mike Goodcase
Dave Little
Frank Thayer
John Stapleton
Shawn Chavez

John Duffield
Shannon Wright
Mike Neal
Scott Rojas
Daryl Lancaster
Head Coach Tom Caffrey
Assistant Coach Jim Dunn
Assistant Coach John Cattlett

The CIF Run

Whittier Christian’s championship run began on the edge of elimination and surged into one of the great postseason stories in school history. The Heralds opened with a 5–4 wild card escape against Cantwell, rallying from a 4–1 deficit behind Daryl Lancaster’s three run shot and John Duffield’s walk off walk. That comeback sparked a team that suddenly refused to flinch, rolling past La Salle in the first round and storming from behind again to beat Temple City in the quarterfinals. Their semifinal performance against defending champion Gladstone became the signature moment of the run as the Heralds exploded for 22 hits and a 17–5 win. By the time they reached Dodger Stadium, Whittier Christian was battle tested and confident, finishing the job with an 8–6 win over St Bernard to secure the CIF title.
 

Wild Card Round

Opponent: Cantwell
Result: Whittier Christian 5, Cantwell 4
Story: The Heralds trailed 4-1 late. Daryl Lancaster hit a three run home run in the sixth to tie it. In the seventh John Duffield drew a bases loaded walk for the walk off win. This game almost ended the run before it started.

 

First Round

Opponent: La Salle
Result: Whittier Christian 10, La Salle 3
Story: Whittier Christian rolled in the opener. The preview piece notes the 10-3 score and lists this as the first official round after the wild card.

 

Quarterfinals

Opponent: Temple City
Result: Whittier Christian 7, Temple City 4
Story: The Heralds fell behind 4-0 then stormed back for a 7-4 win. It was the second straight comeback in the bracket and set up a semifinal with defending champion Gladstone.

 

Semifinals

Opponent: Gladstone (defending CIF champion)
Location: La Palma Park, Anaheim
Result: Whittier Christian 17, Gladstone 5
Story: This is the breakout game. Mike Goodcase went 4 for 5 with two home runs, three runs scored and six RBI as the Heralds pounded out 22 hits. They led 5-2 after two innings then scored ten in the third. Shannon Wright started, Lancaster came in after two innings and threw five shutout frames to move to 13-1 on the year.

 

Championship Final

Opponent: St Bernard
Location: Dodger Stadium
Result: Whittier Christian 8, St Bernard 6
Story: Facing Camino Real League champion St Bernard and star left hander Tim Williams at Dodger Stadium, Whittier Christian jumped out to a 6-1 lead. St Bernard chipped away, helped by Herald errors, and cut the margin to 6-4. With two out in the sixth Wayne Heft delivered his third hit of the day, a two run single that pushed the lead back to 8-4. In the seventh St Bernard scored twice and had two on with two out before Eric Strand bunted one back to reliever Mike Goodcase, who threw to first to end it. John Stapleton had three hits. Future major league shortstop Royce Clayton had two hits for St Bernard. Williams, who came in with a record tying 25 career home runs, went 0 for 2 with two walks.

Gallery

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