Softball
Bonita 2, South Hills 1 — The Bonita High School softball team had just two hits against South Hills pitcher Natalie Lugo, who was throwing an 11-strikeout gem, but the Bearcats turned both of those hits into runs for a 2-1 victory in a Palomares League contest Friday afternoon.
Destinee Lopez got the win for Bonita (7-8, 1-1) with a one-run complete game. The sophomore threw struck out six batters with just one walk. Her one run allowed came off a solo home run by Christie Aguilar.
“She has been such an amazing pitcher for us all year,” Montano said. “When opponents look at her, they see she’s only about five feet tall when she steps on the rubber,but she can pitch, and she has proven that this year with some really great performances. She really did well for us today, and this was a huge win for her.”
Bonita scored its first run against South Hills (12-5, 1-1) in the first inning, when a leadoff walk to freshman Megan Jones followed by a sacrifice bunt and error allowed Jones to score. Lugo didn’t walk another batter for the remainder of the game.
“We did our homework to get ready to face Lugo, and we remember her from last year,” Montano said. “She is a great pitcher, but the key is staying off her riseball. We were very disciplined today, and when you face a dominant pitcher like her, you have to get to her early and we did a great job of that with two runs in the first two innings.”
Jones then hit a solo home run in her next at-bat in the third inning to give the Bearcats a 2-0 lead. Bonita defended its lead over the Huskies with Lopez preserving a shutout into the fifth inning. Bonita’s only other hit for the rest of the game was a double by Celine Spathias.
“Megan is only a freshman, and her focus and ability on the field is just unbelievable for a freshman,” Montano said. “She really is a great player already for us and will be an important part of Bonita softball for the next few years.”
Melysia Ortega went 2 for 3 for the Huskies boosting her batting average to .300 through 14 games played.
The Bearcats had just lost to Glendora two days prior in their Palomares League opener. Glendora won 7-6 in eight innings, putting pressure on Bonita to avoid falling into a 0-2 hole to start league play.
“It’s a huge win for us,” Montano said. “We had a chance on Wednesday against Glendora with a one-run lead, but we let that one slip away. This is still a really young team with just three seniors, so wins like these are amazing for us.”
Glendora 6, Ayala 2 — Cambria Keefer got the win for the Tartans, which are now 15-5 overall and 2-0 in Palomares League play this season. Glendora got a 7-6 win in extra innings over Bonita on Wednesday to open league play.
La Puente 13, Pomona 3 — All nine players in the La Puente lineup scored a run in the second inning, and the team finished with 12 runs in the inning, leading to a five-inning victory over Pomona. Berlin Bonilla and Gina Reyes each hit home runs into left-center field in the inning.
Baseball
Bonita 12, Glendora 8 — The Bearcats got outhit 13-9 and commited four defensive errors, but a six-run fifth inning led Bonita to a crucial win in the rubber match against Glendora. Bonita (13-6, 4-3) won the first contest this year between the two programs in their first meeting as Palomares League opponents, but on Wednesday the Tartans (15-6, 3-4) evened the season series with a 7-4 victory at Bonita.
With the series moving back to Glendora, Bonita took the rubber match with Isaiah Haro on the mound. Haro threw five innings with three runs allowed and three strikeouts, while receiving lots of offensive support. The Bearcats roughed up Austin Isenhart for seven runs in 4 2/3 innings even though Isenhart had just thrown an eight-inning no-hitter against South Hills in his outing last week.
The Bearcats put Jarret Lindsay in behind the plate, and moved Justin Gomez to first base to keep his bat in the lineup and the move paid off as Gomez went 2 for 4 with two RBIs on a home run and two runs scored, while recording eight putouts at first base.
Brandon Bradshaw went 1 for 3 with 3 RBIs for the Bearcats, and Nick Peifer was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run. Monte Montenegro also entered the game as a pinch hitter for the Bearcats and had a two-RBI single through the right side in part of the six-run fifth inning.
Although the Bearcats only had nine hits compared to the Tartans’ 13 in the contest, Bonita didn’t give up a single walk and only allowed one steal in the game, so the four errors only led to one unearned run.
Alex Briggs went 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a home run for Glendora, while Caleb Watkins went 3 for 4 with an RBI and run as the leadoff hitter. On the mound, Isenhart finished the game with eight strikeouts, four walks, and three hits allowed.
La Puente 4, Pomona 0 — Anthony Villareal threw a complete game shutout for La Puente with five strikeouts and six hits allowed to defeat Pomona. Andrew Morales went 2 for 4 with three RBIs for La Puente, while his brother Erick Morales had a double in the fourth inning.
Damien 9, Upland 3 — The Spartans had a slow start to the season, but they turned that around by upsetting the current first place team in the Baseline League for their second win in a row. In its first year in the league, Damien started 1-4, and had consecutive games scheduled against Upland, which was off to a 5-0 start. The Spartans won both games to push their overall record to 5-10 and 3-4 in league, while Upland is now 13-5 overall and 5-2 in league, holding onto a one-game edge over Etiwanda and Chino Hills for first place. Harrison Spohn went 3 for 4 with a double, two runs, two RBIs, and a stolen base for the Spartans, while Grant Woodward went 2 for 3 with a double and RBI. Isaiah Paige got the win, throwing 3 2/3 innings with five strikeouts and one run allowed. Nick Lodolo came in the game in relief and gave up just one earned run in two innings pitched a struck out a batter.