BISHOP AMAT-LA SALLE PHOTO GALLERY
The Bishop Amat baseball team, finding itself in uncharted waters, got thrown a lifeline by starting pitcher Alex Garcia and knocked off La Salle 9-1 in a Del Rey League game Tuesday.
The win pulled Bishop Amat into a tie for second place with La Salle (14-12, 4-3) and St Paul. Amat and La Salle will face each other again Friday with the winner having the inside track for a CIF-SS playoff spot.
With Bishop Amat (13-11, 4-3) needing a win to keep its CIF playoff hopes alive Garcia, who has signed with UC Santa Barbara, got his fifth win of the season by striking out nine batters and giving up only two hits. He set down the first nine batters he faced and had a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings until Lyle Cuellar singled.“(The hit) wasn’t a big thing,” Garcia said. “I really hadn’t noticed the no-hitter. I knew they hadn’t had many base runners but I just tried to keep throwing strikes and get the next batter.
“We’ve had a few difficult games, but beating La Salle just puts us in a better position to keep moving forward.”
Bishop Amat jumped ahead with a pair of runs in the first inning. Bases-loaded singles by Michael Palos and Sergio Robles were the key hits.
Palos had three hits and drove in four runs to lead Amat while Robles was 3 for 4 and drove in two runs.
