THE CROWN FITS: California scores 7-3 win over Whittier to win Del Rio League title



THE CROWN FITS: California players celebrate after scoring
a 7-3 victory over Whittier to win the Del Rio League title.
Photo by Mike Mullen

By Steve Ramirez, SGVN
twitter.com/DailyNewsSports
WHITTIER —
California High School could have pouted after losing to Santa Fe last week.
Instead, the Condors went to work.
Their reward came Friday.
Alec Ojeda went 2 for 2 with three RBIs and Jimmy Olguin was steady on the mound as California completed a two-game sweep over host Whittier and won the Del Rio League baseball championship with a 7-3 victory over the Cardinals at Jack Mele Field.
California, also getting two hits each from Michael Esparza, Daniel Marquez and Michael Davis, improved 18-7 overall and finished 11-4 in league play. The Condors, after dropping an 4-0 setback to Santa Fe last week responded with three consecutive victories to win the league title for the first time since 2010.
Whittier, which shared the league title with El Rancho last season, finished the regular season 16-10 and 10-5. Both teams have qualified for the CIF-Southern Section Division two playoffs, which begin next week. Pairings will be announced Monday.
“That (loss to Santa Fe) was like a bump in the road,” California coach Tony Nieto said. “Another reason I’m proud of my guys is because we could have said, ‘Hey, let’s just settle for the playoffs.
“But at Cal High we don’t play for just playoffs, we play for championships. We play for championships anyway we can get them. We are going to find a way to be a champion.”

Friday, the Condors did combining situational hitting with a gritty performance by Olguin, who gave up 10 hits in six innings, but made made some key outs to keep Whittier at bay. He finished with five strikeouts.
California, which beat Whittier, 7-3, on Wednesday, led 4-1 after three innings. The Condors took a 1-0 lead in the first on a lead-off single by Ojeda, a sacrifice and a RBI single by Esparza.
Cal, which got nine hits off Whittier starting pitcher Joe Melendrez, made it 3-0 in the third on RBIs Dominick Rodriguez and Ojeda before going up 4-0 in the third on a RBI single by Marquez.
Whittier, which had four hits during the first two innings without scoring, made it 4-1 in its half of the third on a triple by Damian Salcedo and a balk.
“I feel they didn’t hit (Melendrez) that hard,” Whittier coach Eric Ramirez said. “They got some hits that just fell in – a couple choppers, a jam shot. Maybe once or twice, they hit him pretty hard. But the ball just bounced their way today. They (executed better than) us.”
The Condors pushed it to 6-1 in the fourth on singles by Davis and Rodriguez, a balk by Melendrez and a two-run single by Ojeda.
“We had a great game plan,” Nieto said. “We knew we had to come here and be agressive. That’s our ball game. We bunt, we hit and run, we steal, we throw strikes and play great defense.
“We knew we would have to do that against this team to take them out of their rhythm. I’m just so proud of our team, because (after back-to-back 7-3 wins) we definitely left no doubt in the league of who is the best team.”
Whittier, which outhit Cal, 11-10, had one last chance in the seventh. The Cardinals cut to 7-3 on a RBI single by Jose Romero with one out. But reliever Luis Gallegos wrapped up the title by getting Johnny Salgado and Cody Carmona on back-to-back line outs.
“I know the players are disappointed, and the coaches are disappointed,” Ramirez said. “I’m not, because we battled every single game, showed a lot of heart. For me, I try to coach for the playoffs. Everything we do during the year is for the playoffs.
“Yeah, it’s a disappointing. But we tied for the league title last year, and this year we had another chance. That’s all you can ask for, especially for a school that hadn’t won a league title or gone to the playoffs (the previous) seven years.”

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