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BELLFLOWER — Zero is the number that has most defined the 2025 season for the Corona baseball program.
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St. John Bosco’s Moises Razo, right, makes the out at first base against Corona during the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals in Bellflower on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
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St. John Bosco’s Moises Razo, right, makes the out at first base against Corona during the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals in Bellflower on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram/SCNG)
The pitching staff, headlined by Major League Baseball Draft prospect Seth Hernandez, registered 16 shutouts across 31 games. That total is a Riverside County record for a single season and is tied for third most in state history, according to Calhisports.com.
But zero is also the combined number of runs the Panthers scored in their three losses this season.
St. John Bosco’s Trevor Heishman and Jack Champlin tamed Corona’s bats Tuesday, with the duo combining for a one-hitter and 10 strikeouts. The Panthers also failed to take advantage of free bases and fell 2-0 in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinal.
The Braves (26-4) will face Trinity League rival Santa Margarita (20-12) for the title Friday or Saturday at a site to be determined.
Heishman, a 6-foot-5 senior southpaw, allowed the one hit and fanned nine in 6 1/3 innings. Champlin moved from third base to the mound in the seventh when Heishman started to struggle with his location. Champlin retired two batters to pick up the save.
“He’s got good stuff and threw pitches where he wanted to and when he needed to,” Corona coach Andy Wise said of Heishman. “We had chances but lost those battles. … We might’ve got a little keyed up in the middle of the game and tried to do too much.”
Hernandez suffered the first loss of his high school career (18-0 entering the game). He allowed the two runs on three hits and struck out nine in five innings of work. Hernandez uncharacteristically walked three batters, which drove up his pitch count (92).
“I do,” Wise replied when asked if he thought Hernandez got squeezed a bit. “It felt like a road game. Take that how you want.”
St. John Bosco (26-4) had runners at first and third with one out in bottom of the first inning, but Hernandez got a shallow fly ball to left field and a strike out to escape unscathed. The Braves applied pressure again in the second, and this time capitalized.
Champlin singled with one out, swiped second base and scored the game’s first run on Macade Maxwell’s single up the middle.
St. John Bosco was aggressive on the bases. Champlin’s steal was the second of three by the Braves in the first two innings.
“We are really athletic, position player wise,” said St. John Bosco coach Andy Rojo, who played for the legendary Dennis Rogers at Riverside City College and later coached under Rogers. “That’s a big part of our game. Hernandez is a little slower to the plate. We felt that if we gave ourselves a chance, not get picked, we could put some pressure by getting runners into scoring position.”
Rogers was in the crowd Tuesday to see two of his former players. Braves pitching coach Ruben Hernandez also played at RCC.
Heishman set down the first batter of an inning six times during Tuesday’s showdown, five of those coming by way of a strikeout.
The only hit Corona’s offense mustered Tuesday was a one-out double to left field by catcher Jesiah Andrade in the third inning.
“My fastball and slider definitely were working pretty well for me today,” Heishman said. “I threw a lot more sliders today to keep them off-balance and then used my fastball whenever I had to. … By the fourth inning, I knew something special was happening.”
Heishman walked five batters and plunked one more, but Corona only got two runners past first base and just one to third base.
St. John Bosco added an insurance run in the fifth inning. James Clark smacked a double down the left-field line and moved to third on a wild pitch. Hernandez almost escaped again, but Clark made a couple of bluffs towards the plate and induced a balk.
Heishman struck out the first batter of the seventh inning, but six straight balls prompted a pitching change. Clark started things off with two balls amongst his first three pitches, which put the tying run on base for Corona. But once again, the Panthers failed to take advantage. Clark fanned Gavin Flores on a called third strike and then got Andrade to fly out to center to end the game.
It was a tough ending for a Corona team looking to defend its Division 1 title. The Panthers went 58-6 between 2024 and 2025.
“It has been amazing, and that was the message from the coaches to the players,” Wise said. “It has been a very special group.”
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