By Steve Ramirez
twitter.com/SteveRRamirez
GLENDORA — There are very few must-win situations this early in the league season.
Friday might have been the exception for Glendora High School, which showed that sense of urgency, rolling to a 7-2 victory over visiting Rancho Cucamonga in a Baseline League game.
The Tartans, who got a home run and two RBIs from catcher Garrett Ouellette and a steady six innings from pitcher Scott Burke, snapped a two-game losing streak with the win and improved to 8-4 overall and 3-2 in league play.
The Cougars, getting RBIs from Jared Gagnon and Joseph Hamilton, slipped to 7-7 and 1-2.
Burke, who has signed with UCLA gave up six hits in six innings and struck out six to improve to 4-1. Nick Kaye and Martin Gallegos also had two RBIs for the Tartans.
Glendora coach Dan Henley: “I think early on it’s one of those games that’s a must-win for confidence. After losing the last two — one to Los Osos, the other to Upland — you don’t want to fall behind. Worst-case scenario, we’re one game behind Los Osos through five games. Yeah, it’s a very important win heading into the Arcadia Tournament next week.”
Glendora’s Garrett Ouellette: “It was a good home run. I honestly didn’t think it was going to go out. I was getting ready to beat it to third, and then when I saw (it go out), I slowed up a bit.”

Baseline League
Glendora 7, Rancho Cucamonga 2
Hacienda League
Bonita at Diamond Ranch, 3:30 p.m.
Los Altos at Walnut, 3:30 p.m.
Mission Valley League
Rosemead at Mountain View, 3:15 p.m.
Nonleague
Chaffey vs. Rowland, Don Lugo Tournament, 3:15 p.m.

STORY: It wasn’t the 1951 New York Giants, but Baldwin Park senior Bernard Flores was yelling, “I feel like Bobby Thomson,” after he hit a game-winning three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat Valle Vista League leader San Dimas 5-2 on Thursday.

Video Highlights and interviews from Baldwin Park’s 5-2 10-inning victory over San Dimas on Thursday. The Guru spoke with Baldwin Park players and assistant coach Joe Laski. San Dimas coach Mike Regan chose not to speak with us.

Damien’s Grant Hockin tossed a four-hit shutout to lead the Spartans to a 4-0 victory over visiting Charter Oak on Thursday.
Staff photo by Keith Birmingham

By Steve Ramirez
twitter.com/SteveRRamirez

LAVERNE — Damien High School’s Grant Hockin began the season rated one of the top pitchers in the area.
He lived up to that billing Thursday.
Hockin tossed a four-hit shut out and struck out 11 to lead the host Spartans to a 4-0 victory over Charter Oak in a Sierra League game at Tom Carroll Field.
Damien, getting RBIs from David Cordova, Grant Woodward and Jordan Lofy, improved too 5-5 overall and 2-3 in league play. Charter Oak which beat preseason favorite South Hills last week, slipped to 3-5 and 2-3.
Damien took a 1-0 lead in the third after Kevin Macedo was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a throwing error.
Damien took advantage of two more Charter Oak miscues to push the lead to 4-0 in the fourth.
Jordan Abernathy and Jonathan Olsen each reached on errors to begin the inning. They advanced to second and third on a sacrifice bunt before a Grant Woodward RBI single made it 2-0 lead.
Jordan Lofy followed with a sacrifice fly and Cordova was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 4-0.
Hockin then finished it off, retiring 10 of the final 12 batters to win it.
Damien coach Al Leyva: “There’s a reason why he is so highly touted. It’s because he’s a good pitcher, and he’s starting to show it. He’s starting to really dial it in. It seems he gets better as the game gets going. If he stays healthy, a lot of good things are going to go his way.”
Damien’s Grant Hockin: “I just tried to stay focused. I gave up that double (in the first), and I got a little frustrated, But I tried to stay within myself. There was a lot of game left and it worked out.”
Charter Oak coach Tom Quinley: “We gave them the game. That’s a good team over there. I thought Nick, for his first game this year, was outstanding. He should have gone all seven probably, but not with the errors.”

Today’s Baseball schedule/scores
Sierra League
Damien 4, Charter Oak 0
South Hills 5, Chino Hills 2
Claremont 6, Ayala 4
Valle Vista League
Baldwin Park 5, San Dimas 2
Covina 7, Wilson 4
Pomona at Northview, 3:15 p.m.
Montview League
Duarte at Azusa, 3:15 p.m.
Bassett 19, Workman 2
La Puente 4, Ganesha 1
Nonleague
Bishop Amat vs. St. Francis at Brookside Park, 3:15 p.m.

Bishop Amat softball (11-2), winners of 10 straight and ranked 17th in the state and 37th nationally by Maxpreps, knocked off Corona Santiago (13-2) 5-3 on Wednesday. Santiago is ranked third in the state and fourth nationally by Maxpreps. Watch highlights and interviews with Lexi Gonzalez, Amanda Sanchez, Sabrina Anguiano and coach Jesse Mendez.

By Steve Ramirez
twitter.com/teveRRAmirez
LA PUENTE — Bishop Amat High School, after outscoring its previous three opponents, 26-0, was in need of a challenge.
The Lancers got it Wednesday and showed it belongs with the top teams in the CIF-Southern Section.
Alexis Gonzalez and Amanda Sanchez each had RBIs during a three-run sixth inning to lead host Amat to a 5-3 victory over nationally-ranked Corona Santiago in a nonleague game.
Sabrina Anguiano was steady in the circle, giving up seven hits with five strikeouts for the Lancers, who improved to 11-2 overall.
The Sharks, ranked No. 3 in the state and No. 12 nationally by MaxPreps.com, slipped to 14-2.
Bishop Amat, after Santiago took a 3-2 lead on a RBI double by Marissa Varrati in the top of the sixth, countered with three runs in its half of the inning. Alyssa Barerra started the winning rally with a bunt single and advanced on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Eryn Sustayta. Gonzalez, after falling behind in the count, tied it at 3 with a single to right field. Sanchez, who had an RBI single in the fourth, then grounded a single past the drawn-in infield to score Sustayta for a 4-3 lead. Victoria Saucedo’s hit an RBI single to push it to 5-3.
Bishop Amat coach Jesse Mendez: This was a major challenge by a great team. There’s a couple of teams in our league that push us. St. Joseph and St. Paul are no walkovers, and Santiago is a powerhouse team. Their coach told me they put in five hours of practice preparing for us, and we put in some time, too. It paid off.”
Alexis Gonzalez: “This just proves that we can hang and we have it. We give it our best, no matter what. We’re solid one through nine and know we can get a hit when we need it.”
Amanda Sanchez: “Honestly, we just had to find our pitch. We had to lay off the rise ball. That’s what we did and came back. BaseballWe showed a lot of heart, one through nine. Everyone stepped up.”
Today’s Baseball schedule/scores
Hacienda League
Diamond Ranch at Bonita, 3:15 p.m.
Walnut at Los Altos, 3:15 p.m.
Baseline League
Upland 3, Glendora 1
Mission Valley League
Arroyo at Rosemead, 3:15 p.m.
South El Monte at Gabrielino, 3:15 p.m.
Mountain View at El Monte, 3:15 p.m.

LOOK WHO’S NO. 1: Nogales, off to its best start in recent memory, takes its spot atop the area baseball rankings.
Staff photo by Keith Birmingham

Here’s this week’s area baseball top 10 rankings:
1. Nogales (11-0) — Romano’s clan just keeps on winning. The Nobles one-two pitching tandem gives them the best chance in the home-and-home Valle Vista League format.
2. Bonita (9-1) — The Bearcats showed some of their muscle, rallying for a 6-5 victory over Cypress, which is one of the top teams in Orange County and ranked No. 5 in CIF-SS Division 2. Bonita still looks like the favorite in the Hacienda League.
3. South Hills (7-2) — It was a hit and miss week for the Huskies, who hit a bump in the road with an 8-7 loss to un-ranked Charter Oak, but responded with a 1-0 victory over Damien. You still have to put them as the Sierra favorite
4. Northview (8-2) — The Vikings tumbled a bit after losing to rival Covina at home, then returned the favor to beat the Colts. Expect Northview to be in the thick of the Valle Vista League race.
5. Diamond Bar (8-1) — The Brahmas looked like the real deal, sweeping Los Altos in dominating fashion after outscoring the Conquerors, 15-2. Are they ready to challenge Bonita? We find out later.
6. San Dimas (9-2) — The Saints took care of business with a sweep of Wilson. Now comes the real tests in coming weeks with home-and-homes against Baldwin Park, Covina, Northview and Nogales.
7. Glendora (7-3) — The Tartans drop a spot after losing on the road at Los Osos. But I still like Glendora to take the Baseline.
8. Bishop Amat (4-5) — The Lancers are finding their second win, riding a three-game win streak into this week, including an impressive win over Alemany, which was undefeated in the Mission League.
9. Baldwin Park (6-2) — It took a two-run seventh for Nogales to beat the Braves. This is a team that will make some waves in the Valle Vista title chase.
10. West Covina (9-2-1) — The Bulldogs are showing they are for real, holding their own in the Hacienda so far in the Hacienda, spliting their first two series.
OTHERS: Damien (4-4), Los Altos (5-4), Charter Oak (3-3), Covina (5-5), Ayala (7-3)

HAMMERING THE COMPETITION: Bishop Amat, helped by Alexis Gonzalez (above), has felt very little resistance while racing to the top of the area rankings.
Staff photo by Keith Birmingham

Here is this week’s top 10 rankings:
1. Bishop Amat (9-2) — The Lancers are showing they have no peer in the Valley and beyond, outscoring rivals St. Paul and La Salle, 22-0 last week.
2. Chino Hills (10-4) — The Huskies were idle last week, but should be refreshed for their Sierra League title run.
3. Ayala (8-2) — The Bulldogs also took a respite. They resume with tournament play before opening up the Sierra League in two weeks.
4. South Hills (11-3) — The Huskies showed their prowess with an impressive sweep over Bonita. Next up: The Sierra League.
5. Bonita (8-5) — Another hit and miss week for the Bearcats, who dominated Rowland before losing two to South Hills.
6. Charter Oak (10-2) — The Chargers are having a solid season, and continued it with a sweep of Fullerton and beating Schurr on Monday.
7. San Dimas (7-5) — The Saints are the favorite in the Valle Vista and showed it with an easy win at Wilson.
8. Northview (5-4) — The Vikings won another slugfest, beating rival Covina. Eventually, they’ll have to pitch.
9. Duarte (7-2) — The Falcons are the team to beat in the Montview and showed it against Azusa.
10. St. Lucy’s (3-6) — The Regents are a lot better than their record, which includes an impressive schedule.

By Steve Ramirez
twitter.com/SteveRRamirez
SAN DIMAS — It would have been easy for the San Dimas High School baseball team to fold after giving up the lead Tuesday afternoon.
But there’s a reason why the Saints are regarded as one of the top teams in the area, and they showed by scoring six runs in the sixth to score an 8-2 victory over visiting Baldwin Park in a Valle Vista League game.
San Dimas, getting three hits from Elias Orona and two RBIs from Andrew Espinoza, improved to 8-2 overall and 3-0 in league play. The Saints’ also received a solid effort from pitcher Jimmy Lambert, who gave up six hits and struck out six for the complete-game victory.
Baldwin Park, which nearly beat preseason league favorite Nogales last week, slipped to 6-3 and 0-2. Justin Tellez led the Braves with two hits and an RBI.
San Dimas sent 11 guys to the plate and had four consecutive hits with two outs in the sixth, including a RBI double by Logan Murratalla and a RBI single by Josh Avila for the six-run lead. Avila started the barrage with a single. It was followed by a walk to Rick Ramirez. Ryan Cruz then relieved Bernardo Flores and Lambert followed with a RBI single for a 3-2 advantage. Peter Lambert then had a bunt single on a safety squeeze to make it 4-2 before Aaron Torres had a single and Espinoza an RBI groundout to make it 5-2.
San Dimas coach Mike Regan: “I think our guys did in (the sixth) everything we constantly work on. Our guys were pretty resilient today. The team effort was great all the way around. We had some big hits early. Our guys stayed with the approach and hit really, really well.”
Baldwin Park coach Jake Barendregt: “It looked like (Flores) wasn’t being very aggressive with those pitches (in the sixth). It was like he was trying to get them over the strike zone instead of pounding the strike zone. I don’t think he was tired. But there was definitely a difference in his velocity that inning. But San Dimas is a good team. They have some guys who can swing the bats and if you make some mistakes, they’re going to get you.”

Tuesday’s schedule/scores
Sierra League
South Hills 6, Ayala 5
Claremont 8, Charter Oak 6
Damien at Chino Hills, 3:30 p.m.
Valle Vista League
Wilson at Covina, 3:15 p.m.
San Dimas 8, Baldwin Park 2
Northview 6, Pomona 0
Montview League
Azusa at Duarte, 3:15 p.m.
Ganesha at La Puente, 3:15 p.m.
Gladstone at Sierra Vista, 3:15 p.m.
Workman at Bassett, 3:15 p.m.