Too much speed, too much power, too much talent. It all came together for No. 2-seeded Serra in the CIF Southern Section Division III championship game.
Serra had a home run, a steal of home and a dominant pitching performance in defeating Mira Costa 8-1 to capture the school's first-ever CIF title on Friday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
And Serra (28-5) did it in a hurry because starting pitcher Dominic Smith works fast, Denz'l Chapman runs fast and Marcus Wilson hit a bomb that left the yard fast.
Mira Costa also was stymied by former Mustang Trent Hammond, who went 2 for 4 with three RBIs, and Manhattan Beach resident Duncan McKinnon, who contributed an RBI single for Serra.
Hammond took his stance in the batters box to a chorus of boos from the Mira Costa fans, but came up with two big hits to quiet them down.
"I heard them, I came in expecting it and it fired me up," Hammond said.
"It made me want to come through even more."
Wilson, a Hamilton High transfer, set the tone in the second inning, when he slugged a solo home run off the left-field foul pole off Mira Costa starter Chris Alcala to give Serra a 1-0 lead.
"I thought it was going to be a triple, then I saw it keep sailing and thought it might get out," Wilson said. "I thought to myself if I got a fastball I wasn't going to miss it, and I
Wilson also added a two-run double that gave Serra a 4-0 lead in the third inning.
"I felt like today was going to be my day," Wilson said.
Serra broke the game open in a four-run fourth inning. Hammond had a two-run single in the inning and Chapman stole home - his second stolen base of the day and 28th of the season.
"Jackie Robinson is my idol, and to do what he did at Dodger Stadium is something I'll always remember," Chapman said. "I feel like I'm a little part of history. It's something I'll always be able to tell family and friends, that I stole home at Dodger Stadium. It's an amazing feeling."
Serra coach Wilmer Aaron put on the sign for Chapman to steal home on the second pitch. He had a good jump and slid in safely under the tag of catcher Austin Henning.
"There's no bluffing, you have to hit it fast, and that's what he did," Aaron said.
Serra's offense gave Smith more than he'd need. Smith had a fastball in the 90s and was throwing his breaking balls for strikes.
"I was getting ahead in the count with my fastballs, which allowed me to work in my breaking balls," Smith said.
Smith is known more for his hitting for his pitching. He entered the game having thrown 24 innings this season, but he came up big.
"Domo barks and he bites," Aaron said. "The bigger the game, the more he steps up."
Smith (4-0) threw 6 1/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits and four walks with nine strikeouts.
Mira Costa loaded the bases in the seventh inning on a double by Braden Casady and two walks. Aaron replaced Smith with semifinal winner Solomon Bates, who promptly got a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
"He was tiring, but he didn't want to come out of the game," Aaron said of Smith.
It marked the end of a long journey to the top for Serra. Five years ago, Aaron took over a 1-18 team and began to build up the program. It has culminated in the program's first-ever CIF championship.
"I always felt this was possible if everyone bought in, and we finally achieved it," said Smith, a four-year varsity starter who is projected to be a first-round pick in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Amateur Draft next week.
At the plate, Smith was 1 for 1 with three walks (two intentional) and two runs scored.
Henning led Mira Costa's offense by going 2 for 3 with a run scored. Casady bunted him home in the fourth inning.
"I grew up going to games at Dodger Stadium and thinking I'd never play here, so even though we lost it was a great experience," Henning said. "It felt great to get a couple of hits here."
For Mira Costa, it was the school's first CIF final appearance since 1982 and the end of a tumultuous season, which started with coach Cassidy Olson's suspension and ended at Dodger Stadium.
"After everything that has happened, I couldn't be more proud of the guys," Olson said. "We weren't the most talented team on the field today - those guys just beat us, there are no two ways about it. But I just really appreciate the senior class. I wouldn't trade any one of them for any Division I player. It was a magical ride."