Monrovia knocks out the defending champion with clutch strikeouts from Joe Mata in the bottom of the seventh
Monrovia 4, Bishop Amat 3 The Monrovia High School baseball team could feel it slipping away in the bottom of the seventh inning against defending champion Bishop Amat in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 playoffs Tuesday.
So, the Wildcats turned to the best pitcher they had left, Rio Hondo League Most Valuable Player Joe Mata.
All Mata had to deal with was the bases loaded, no outs and his team clinging to a two-run lead with the top of Amat’s order coming up.
“I know it was a tough situation when my coach put me in there,” Mata said. “I just said trust your defense and throw strikes.”
That’s exactly what he did.
Mission Viejo 9, Damien 1: The Diablos (19-13), who beat the Spartans in the quarterfinals last season on their way to the CIF-SS championship, knocked the Spartans out of the playoffs, this time in the second round, 9-1, on Tuesday afternoon.
TUESDAY’S SECOND ROUND RESULTS
Division 2
Glendora 5, Cypress 2
South Hills 8, Canyon Springs 1
Mission Viejo 9, Damien 1
Division 3
Bonita 5, Garden Grove 3
Los Altos 4, Downey 3
Division 4
Savanna 4, Nogales 3, 9 innings
Monrovia 4, Bishop Amat 3
Division 5
Cathedral 4, Sierra Vista 1
Glendora 5, Cypress 2
Glendora heard since last week how tough Cypress, the No. 4 seed, was and how they had no chance. The Tartans, the Baseline League Co-Champion, would have none of that as they posted a 5-2 win over the visiting Centurions in a CIF Division 2 game. Early on it didn’t look promising as Cypress got a two-out 2-run home run from Stephen Lohr in the top of the first inning off Wyatt Wood. Wood, however, hit his own two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to tie it. Wood worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning as he induced an inning-ending pop-up to shortstop. The Tartans used that momentum to score two runs in the bottom half of the inning as DJ Peters’ 2-run double gave Glendora the 4-2 lead.
Wood was dominant shut down Cypress in the fourth and fifth innings to set the stage for Glendora’s decisive rally. Donovan Holmes led off the fifth with a high-hop grounder to second base and Martin Gallegos reached base when he was hit by a pitch. Wood then singled to right field to score Holmes for a 5-2 lead. Wood, who had no complete games all season, threw his first career complete game. After giving up a lead-off walk in the sixth inning, he got two outs and a strikeout to set up the seventh inning. Wood got a groundout for the first out. Cypress then got a single, prompting Glendora coach Dan Henley to go to his bullpen, but Woods closed it out. He got a fielder’s choice for the second out and ended the game with a grounder to third base to move the Tartans on to the quarterfinals. Wood finished 2 for 3 and 3 RBIs, freshman Nick Kaye was 2 for 3 and sophomore DJ Peters was 1 for 3 with a pair of RBIs.
South Hills 8, Canyon Springs 1
The Huskies (19-7) got a solid pitching performance from Kevin McKeldey, who improved to 6-1 by scattering four hits and allowing one earned run. South Hills got 11 hits and was led by Matt Caro, who had a double.
Bonita 5, Garden Grove 3
Thomas Castro led the way for Bonita by going 2 for 3 with a double and three RBIs as the Bearcats improved to 28-2. Tyler Heslop chipped in with a home run and two RBIs. Parker Merrit improved to 7-1 despite recording only one strikeout. Justin Garza entered the game in the fifth inning and struck out three en route to earning his second save. “It was a good game,” Bonita coach John Knott said. “Castro and Garza had a great game.” DIVISION 4
Savanna 4, Nogales 3 (9 innings)
Nogales (22-7) battled with a solid pitching effort from Caleb Rodusky, Erik Gonzalez and Albert Lemus, who scattered six hits, but fell short to the Rebels in nine innings. Lemus went 2 for 3 for the Nobles.
Cathedral 4, Sierra Vista 1
Julian Perez turned in a strong performance, scattering four hits, and earned the win for the Phantoms. Cathedral improved to 23-5. The Dons’ Giovanni Rivera (9-3) went a strong six innings allowing four hits and striking out three but got little run support. Jesus Terraazas pitched an inning of relief. Sierra Vista (17-7) got its lone run in the seventh inning when Christian Quinones singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nicholas Herrejon.
