BASEBALL: Monrovia wins league title again

By Scott Galetti, Staff Writer
MONROVIA - Smiles were ear to ear and hugs were going all around the pitcher's mound Tuesday at Monrovia High School's baseball field.
A group of players then crept behind first-year assistant coach Chris Cribbs to douse him with a Gatorade jug.
In a season following the departure of former Wildcats pitching star Eddie McKiernan and with its No. 1 starter Richard Kilbury nursing a sore back, Monrovia celebrated its third consecutive Rio Hondo League championship with a 5-4 victory over pesky San Marino.
Wildcats center fielder Curtis Cowell was 2 for 3 with an RBI, a pair of stolen bases and a run scored to lead the winners.
"Winning it as a sophomore and making it back to the championship game as a junior was sweet, but clinching league title right now, there's nothing better," Cowell said. "We've worked so hard ever since September, so it's really nice."
With Kilbury throwing warmup tosses on the side and available if needed, senior Vince Vega stepped up to make sure Kilbury had the day off.
Vega (4-1) worked seven innings, allowed four runs on five hits and struck out six to earn his second complete-game victory.
"It's a really big win because I was a pitcher my sophomore year, but I had arm injuries and didn't pitch the next year," Vega said. "Coming back as a senior and being able to win this game is unbelievable and a really good feeling."
Kai Nakamura's sacrifice fly gave Monrovia (17-7, 11-3) a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
The Wildcats scored three runs in the third on a single by Cowell, a ground out by Vega and a double to center by Chris Sanchez. They scored another run in the fourth on a ground out by Luis Fraijo to take a 5-0 lead.
"That lead in the beginning was big and we needed that to come out on fire," Cowell said.
San Marino (14-6-1, 8-6) battled back with four runs in the fifth on a two-run double by Stevie Yortsos and run-scoring singles by Nick Wilson and Dylan Bensinger to pull within a run.
"Usually, we're in those positions because of mental mistakes," San Marino coach Mack Paciorek said. "We put a little string together there to make it exciting, but their starting pitcher did a heck of a job."
Vega retired the final seven batters he faced and pumped his fist after striking out Yortsos to end the game.
"I came back and settled down and just knew what had to be done and did it," Vega said. "My coach asked me how I felt, and I wanted the game so I settled down and just went for it."
Despite the loss, San Marino clinched third place and the league's final guaranteed playoff berth by virtue of La Cañada losing to South Pasadena 3-1. The Titans will host the Spartans in Thursday's season finale.
Monrovia will close out the regular season with a road game against league rival Temple City.