Coach/dad's faith rewarded as San Marcos holds off Poway for Division 1 baseball title

Jeff Dufek said his stomach was "doing cartwheels."

Leading by three run in the bottom of the seventh with the CIF San Diego Section Division 1 baseball championship on the line, the San Marcos High School baseball coach went to the bullpen to snuff a two-on, no-one out Poway rally.

The pitcher Dufek brought in was his son, Kyler.

The senior gave up back-to-back singles, then got a pop-up to shortstop, a comebacker and a grounder to second as the No. 4 seeded Knights held on for a 4-3 win to complete an improbable run to the title at USD's Fowler Field.

"The coach in me said I needed to bring Kyler in," Jeff Dufek said. "The dad in me was going, 'What am I doing?'

"I can't begin to tell you how tough a decision it was to bring Kyler in. I had to keep a poker face and rely that he'd get it done like he has all year. He has a lot of guts."

This is the third CIF championship for Jeff Dufek at San Marcos. The Knights (18-14) won back-to-back Division 2 titles in 2016 and 2017. Both San Marcos and Poway advance to the Southern California Regionals, with pairings announced Sunday afternoon.

"I was this big the last time San Marcos won a championship," Kyler Dufek said, holding his hand about a yard off the ground. "I know it was a pressure situation, but I thrive on pressure. I love it. Pressure is my middle name.

"The way the game was going, I figured I'd get in at the end. I don't throw the hardest, so I have to outsmart hitters, work with their minds."

Isaac Esquer, San Marcos' starting pitcher, worked over the Poway hitters. In running his record to 6-3, the sophomore worked six-plus innings before surrendering a double to Kai DeCremer and hitting Asher Anderson to start the bottom of the seventh.

Hitting his 110-pitch limit, Esquer was replaced by Kyler Dufek.

Everett Wisdom drove in a run with a single and Parker Smith's groundout made it a one-run game before the reliever induced a groundout to second to set off a wild San Marcos celebration. Poway finishes 22-11.

"I was really nervous in the seventh," Esquer said. "Fortunately, Kyler had my back."

San Marcos scored twice in the first inning, once in the fourth and one more in the sixth. Colton Walker and an RBI and No. 9 hitter Evan Hall had two RBIs.

"This team showed a lot of moxie," Jeff Dufek said. "Who would have thought we'd win this thing? But here we are."

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune .