JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers BIG KNOCK- Simi Valley's Chance Cross rounds third base and gets congrats from head coach Matt La Belle after hitting a grand slam in the first inning of Tuesday's playoff game vs. Long Beach Wilson. For five innings on Tuesday afternoon, Simi Valley High went toe-to-toe with one of the finest baseball teams in the country.

In the sixth inning, however, any thoughts of pulling off a remarkable upset in the second round of the CIFSouthern Section Division I playoffs were dashed when Long Beach Wilson scored four runs, erasing a 5-4 deficit and pulling away for what eventually would end up being a 9-5 victory for the visiting team.

"They are the No. 2 team in the nation in one poll, and our guys came out fighting," said SVHS head coach Matt La Belle, who had his team in the playoffs for the first time since winning a CIF-SS Division II title in 2004.

"We weren't intimidated and came out believing we could win. We made them go into the seventh inning to beat us, so I'm pretty happy with our performance."

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers GUTSY PERFORMANCE- Simi Valley catcher Jake Reed, right, goes to the mound to talk with pitcher Nick Barnese in the fourth inning of Tuesday's game at home against Long Beach Wilson. Simi Valley (19-10-1) tried to deliver the dagger early on when right fielder Chance Cross blasted a grand slam over the left field wall in the bottom of the first inning to stake the Pioneers to a 4-0 lead.

"I just took off down first base hoping to get a double," said Cross, who finished 2-for-3 with four RBI. "I saw the guy jump up and I knew I'd hit it out. That was pretty cool."

After Cross' home run, Long Beach Wilson pitcher Ray Hanson settled down, retiring 12 of the next 13 batters he faced.

"Up to me he was throwing almost all fastballs," Cross said. "He started mixing in a couple other pitches afterward, like a splitter and a curve ball."

Pioneer starting pitcher Nick Barnese, who'd thrown a nohitter in the first round and was working on three day's rest for the first time this season, held Long Beach Wilson scoreless for the first two innings.

In the third the Bruins broke through with three runs. They tied the game in the fourth inning on a botched pickoff attempt at second base.

Barnese admitted that he probably didn't have his best stuff on the mound. His velocity was down a bit, he said.

"I just wanted to give my team the best chance to win," Barnese said. "I'm not going to make any excuses, but I've never done that this whole year. I did my best to keep my team in the game."

Simi Valley got the lead back in the bottom of the fifth inning when center fielder Brett Hale singled in Eric Bernstein.

With Barnese now on the bench, Pioneer relievers Nick Russo and Drew Sandler couldn't make the 5-4 lead hold up.

Long Beach Wilson, ranked second in the Baseball America/ National High School Baseball Coaches Association Top 50 poll, scored four times in the top of the sixth and added an insurance run in the seventh.