Baseball: Los Altos outlasts West Covina, 4-2

By Steve Ramirez
WEST COVINA —
Los Altos High School could have folded Friday.
But instead, the Conquerors just pushed harder before freshman Esteban Ortega gave his teammates something to cheer about.
Ortega went 2 for 4 and hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning to help Los Altos to a 4-2 victory over host West Covina in a Hacienda League baseball game.
The Conquerors, getting solid efforts from pitchers Kyle Peck and Andres Mota, improved to 6-6 overall and 2-2 in league play. West Covina, which tied it at 2 on an RBI single by Steven Diosdado in the sixth, slipped to 3-9 and 2-3.


“It was a very tight game and we persevered,” Los Altos coach Andrew Formano said. “We had some adversity today. But we’ve been talking (to the team) all year how you have to overcome things.
“We couldn’t get a big hit, let a lot of guys on base. It took us 10 innings, but we got it done.”
The key came on the mound, where Peck and Mota combined to hold West Covina to six hits, with nine strikeouts.
Mota also foiled two West Covina scoring chances, including inducing Cristian Dorado to hit into a double play with the potential winning run on second with one out in the ninth.
“Our pitching kept us in the game,” Formano said. “Kyle Peck started it, and pitched a tremendous six innings. Mota then finished it up.”
Los Altos, after surviving the ninth, then won it in the 10th. Steven Camberos walked to lead off the inning before Ortega hit Diosdado’s second pitch off the screen in left field for a 4-2 lead.
“I just wanted to get a base hit,” Ortega said. “I just wanted to get on, to help my team.”
Mota then retired the Bulldogs in order, including striking out two in the bottom of the inning to win it.
“We gave ourselves two or three opportunities,” said West Covina coach Drew Lorenger, whose team also had a runner at second with less than two outs in the eighth. “We just couldn’t come through.”
Los Altos, which lost 3-1 to Bonita on Wednesday, led 2-0 after three innings. Jesus Acosta followed a double by Ortega with a sacrifice fly to right in the first. Camberos made it 2-0 in the third, following a double by Mike Luna with an RBI single to right.
West CovinaThe Bulldogs rallied back. The Bulldogsy took advantage of a throwing error and cut it to 2-1 in its half of the third on a bloop single by David Garcia that scored Jason Diaz.
George Johnson led off the sixth with a double before Diosdado followed with an RBI single to tie it at 2.
“I was pleased with the way we came back,” Lorenger said. “That showed a lot of heart.”

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