First published in the March 10 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
After dropping three straight games, the Maranatha High School varsity baseball team bounced back and earned a 9-2 victory at La Habra Whittier Christian to open Olympic League action on Friday.
Senior pitcher Mikey Ebner tossed four innings with five strikeouts while allowing one earned run. He also helped himself at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored. Senior outfielder Nick Cook collected three hits, including two doubles, a walk and a stolen base, while junior outfielder Jackson Hisey connected on a solo home run. After relieving Ebner, freshman Jacob Yun pitched two shutout innings with four strikeouts. Junior outfielder Dylan Zdunek tallied a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base, while junior infielder Will Allen registered three hits, an RBI and a run scored. Senior infielder Daniel Latshaw made his lone at-bat count by adding an RBI double. Senior Ian Parris and junior infielder Isaac Ton each scored once while stealing two and one bases, respectively.
The Minutemen (4-3 overall record, 1-0 in league) were previously edged 4-3 at Santa Ana Mater Dei in a nonleague game last Wednesday. Ebner finished 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, while Zdunek collected a base hit, an RBI and a run scored. Hisey and Cook each tallied a hit and a run scored, while senior infielder Nicholas Sartor recorded a single.
Maranatha completed the Inland Valley Baseball Tournament by falling at Warren High of Downey, 2-1, in an eight-inning battle on Feb. 23. Junior pitcher Garret McGuigan did well on the mound, twirling 5.1 shutout innings with seven strikeouts. Cook tallied the Minutemen’s lone RBI on a single, while the courtesy runner, junior outfielder Judson Pitre, crossed the plate. Sartor and senior infielders Donovan Gonsal and Angelo Aleman each registered a base hit.
Maranatha is scheduled to host Redland Arrowhead Christian in a nonleague game on Saturday, March 12, at 6 p.m.
ST. FRANCIS
Sometimes, players have to tip their cap to good pitching, as the Golden Knights were no-hit in a tight 1-0 Mission League loss to visiting West Hills Chaminade last Friday. Despite the loss, senior Aaron Petersen pitched well over seven innings with 15 strikeouts and only one unearned run.
St. Francis lost a league game at Chaminade earlier in the week, 5-1, on Wednesday, March 2. Senior infielder Miles Leyva finished 1-for-2 with a run scored and sophomore infielder Holden Deitch tallied an RBI. Senior outfielder Simon Lee, senior outfielder Luke Fogarty and sophomore catcher Brody Ruyle each collected a base hit.
In a thrilling nine-inning battle, the Golden Knights edged visiting Chaminade, 5-4, to open league play last Tuesday. Holden Deitch and Ruyle each registered two hits, an RBI and a run scored, while Leyva and Fogarty tallied two base hits. Senior Simon Lee recorded a base hit and an RBI, while senior outfielders Quinn Deitch and Alejandro Ramirez each collected a base hit. Freshman utility player Jordan Lewallen scored once and stole a base.
The Golden Knights (2-6 overall, 1-2 in league) are scheduled to host Studio City Harvard-Westlake in the finale of a three-game series on Friday, March 11, at 3:30 p.m.
LA SALLE
The Lancers were edged in their Del Rey League opener at La Puente Bishop Amat, 3-2, last Friday as Bishop Amat blasted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
La Salle (4-4 overall, 0-1 in league) was previously edged at La Cañada, 4-3, in a nonleague game last Tuesday, March 1. Sophomore Hunter Vigil pitched 2.1 shutout innings while junior Jacob Escamilla, who finished 1-for-3 at the plate, tossed two shutout innings with two strikeouts. Meanwhile, junior William Clougherty finished 1-for-3.
The Lancers finished the South Hills Tournament with a 9-0 rout at California High of Whittier on Feb. 25. Junior Valentino Gomez compiled four one-hit innings with seven strikeouts to earn the win, while senior Douglas Pyle pitched three innings of relief with one strikeout. Sophomore Adrian Beltré Jr. finished 2-for-2 with three RBIs, Escamilla went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and sophomore David Mysza collected three base hits.
La Salle competed in the South Hills tournament and dominated at Wilson High of Hacienda Heights, 6-1, on Feb. 23 as sophomore Kyle Lima earned the win after pitching five strong innings with only one earned run.
The Lancers are scheduled to visit Sun Valley Village Christian in a nonleague game on Saturday, March 12, at 11 a.m.
