BASEBALL: Cabral still dominating league

By Scott Galetti, Staff Writer
SOUTH EL MONTE - When it comes to Mission Valley League play, Gabrielino High School starting pitcher Angel Cabral can be downright stingy.
South El Monte found out right away Wednesday the senior right-hander once again wasn't in a giving mood in the battle of the Eagles.
Cabral overcame a howling wind and scattered six hits over seven innings and struck out 11 in Gabrielino's 6-0 victory.
"It made my ball tail a little bit outside, but not that much," Cabral said.
While Cabral (4-3 overall, 3-0 in league) wasn't affected by the wind, his whirlwind run through the league continued as he ran his streak to 52 consecutive innings without allowing a run dating back to last season.
Mountain View scored two runs against Cabral on April 6, 2007.
"The whole game it was me and my defense," Cabral said. "I also had command of my pitches and that made me feel pretty good the whole game. It was for first place so I knew I needed to bring my `A' game."
Gabrielino (9-5, 4-0) snapped South El Monte's four-game winning streak while continuing its recent hot play.
Gabrielino has won two in a row and eight of its last nine and secured sole possession of first place over South El Monte (4-3, 3-1).
"It's good to know that we're in first place by ourselves," Gabrielino coach Joe Laski said. "But we know we're one game away from being tied."
Gabrielino out-hit South El Monte 9-6.
Matt Izumida, Steffan Jarrin and Nick Hovermale had two hits apiece for Gabrielino while Manny Acosta paced South El Monte with a pair of hits.
Both teams left their share of baserunners. Gabrielino stranded 11 while South El Monte left eight.
Gabrielino scored a run in the first inning on a single by Jarrin, and two more in the second on a two-run single to right field by Izumida.
"Bases loaded with nobody out, you want to go the opposite way to bring in the runs," Izumida said.
Cabral, staked with a three-run cushion, simply concentrated on the hitters.
Gabrielino added to its lead in the sixth when South El Monte elected to walk Izumida (2-for-3) to get to Andy Tholt, who drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-0.
Hovermale closed out the scoring with a two-run shot over the short temporary fence in left field.
"I was looking for a fastball and got it," Hovermale said. "I've been struggling at the plate so it's a big momentum builder.
Acosta did his best to bring the host Eagles some momentum at the plate, where he was 2-for-2 with a double and a walk.
South El Monte starter Jimmie Saucedo (3-1) worked all seven innings and struck out six.
"I left a couple of mistakes over the plate on 0-2 counts, and that's what hurt me," Saucedo said. "They took advantage of my mistakes."