Two strong prep baseball programs, nearly derailed by injuries to their respective stars, took to a familiar ballpark on Tuesday night with a chance to not only earn their place in history, but square off against each other for all the marbles. It seemed tailor-made, almost a little too well.

And in the end, it was.

In a doubleheader at Blair Field, both Wilson and Lakewood lost in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section-Ford Championships, presented by Farmers, missing a chance for an all-Moore League championship final this weekend. Wilson dropped their game to Esperanza by a score of 6-2, while J.W. North defeated a heavily-favored Lakewood squad by a 10-4 score in the afternoon game.

Wilson ends their 2011 season at 26-7, while Lakewood finishes with a 29-5-1 overall record and the Moore League title.

In the 4:00pm matchup, J.W. North jumped out to a 5-0 lead in just the first inning as Lakewood struggled to mount a comeback. There was no shortage of bad blood in this one, as the two squads met earlier this season and Lakewood star catcher Tyler Schultz was injured in a collision at the plate that many believed would end his time as a Lancer. Schultz played his first game since that injury last night – in the outfield – but the San Francisco signee and his Lancer teammates fell short against the Huskies.

At 7:00pm, Wilson actually led Esperanza early with a 2-1 score in the top of the 4th inning, but the bottom brought trouble. Esperanza scored four in an outburst to take a commanding 5-2 lead, and added one more run for good measure in the 6th.

Wilson lost a star of their own, starting pitcher Sean Buckle, to a broken neck after a freak accident in April. Buckle did not make it back onto the field on Tuesday night.

The fairy tale meeting was not to be, but that fact takes nothing away from the remarkable runs that both teams enjoyed in 2011.

Esperanza (23-10) will play J.W. North (26-7) at Dodger Stadium this Friday for the Division 1 CIF championship game.