La Salle beats Bishop Amat for the first time in history, 7-6, giving the five-time league champs their second league loss since 2007

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By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
When La Salle High School’s Bowdien Derby struckout Andrew Medina to end the game with Bishop Amat’s tying and game-winning runners in scoring position, La Salle coach Harry Agajanian’s face was a picture of relief.

La Salle overcame a five-run deficit to beat Bishop Amat 7-6 for its fist win over Amat in school history.

Agajanian made the risky decision of starting junior pitcher Austin Wallis instead of his senior ace Derby, especially with Amat sending out ace lefty Daniel Zamora
But it paid off.

With the exception of giving up five runs in the second inning, Wallis was solid while La Salle battled back before giving way to Derby to close it out by getting the final two outs in the seventh.

“I thought throwing Wallis we could get them off balance,” Agajanian said. “They’re a good fastball hitting team and Derby is a good fastball pitcher. That’s why we thought we would mix it up a little and throw Austin at them. He has a pretty live fastball too. It’s not 90, but he’s got some good off-speed that keeps you off balance. I think it worked.”

Since Amat entered the Del Rey League in 2007 it has won five straight league titles so impressively that that Tuesday’s loss was just its second loss in more than 70 league games since ’07. (To continue click thread)


La Salle (14-6-1, 6-1) can take it a step further when it faces Amat (14-8, 8-1) for the final time on Friday at Citrus College.

La Salle has played two fewer games than Amat in the Del Rey, but both only have one loss, so the winner will have the inside track toward the title, and La Salle is in a good spot with Derby set to go.

“It would be sweet,” Agajanian said of beating Amat again. “They beat Derby in our first meeting so we’re not going in with the expectation of it’s a lock or anything. It’s baseball and they’re very good. We have to go in, make our pitches, hope Derby’s on and keep swinging the bat like we did today.”

For Bishop Amat, the top-ranked team in Division 4, the loss was unsettling.

After Bryan Menendez drove in a pair of runs, Adam Alcantara followed with a bases-loaded triple to clear the bases to give Amat a 5-0 lead in the second inning, normally insurmountable with Zamora on the hill.

But La Salle countered by scoring five runs, all with two outs, to tie the game in the third, 5-5.

After Zamora struckout the first two batters in the inning, Noeh Martinez, who went 3-for-4, singled, stole second and scored on Jordan Rodgers’ infield single to make it 5-1.

After Zamora hit Derby to put a second runner aboard, he appeared to get an inning-ending ground ball to short, but it was bobbled for an error. La Salle made them pay with four unearned runs courtesy of Antonio Ruiz’s single that drove in two, and Michael Pedote’s RBI single that brought in the game-tying score.

Amat wasn’t done with the miscues.

After Derby singled to leadoff the fifth, Chris Williams’ fly to left was dropped for an error. After Antonio Ruiz’s bunt single loaded the bases, Derby scored on a wild pitch and David Sanchez’s infield single scored Williams for the two-run lead.

“For us to squander a 5-0 lead with Zamora on, that’s not alright,” Amat coach Andy Nieto said. “That’s a formula and recipe for being eliminated in the first round (of the playoffs).

“But you have to give them credit. It was a great job on their part for taking advantage of the extra opportunities that we gave them.”

Nieto then turned his attention to Friday’s rubber game that ultimately could decide the league title.

“We’ve got to lick our wounds,” Nieto said. “Our players should be hurting and should be wounded and deserve to be. But we got a find a way to pick ourselves up from this and get back to work.”

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