First published in the March 24 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
The visiting Flintridge Prep varsity baseball team earned a season sweep over crosstown rival Polytechnic with a recent 12-2 victory to remain undefeated in Prep League play.
Senior pitcher Spencer Seid tossed five innings with 10 strikeouts while allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits. He also collected a double and three RBIs at the plate to help Flintridge Prep (12-2 overall record, 5-0 in league) remain in first place.
Prep senior outfielder Josh Beserra blasted a home run with four RBIs and two runs scored, while junior Graham DesHotel finished 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI.
Senior infielder Nathan Park recorded two hits, two runs and an RBI, while junior outfielder Max Brunngraber registered a base hit and a run scored. Junior outfielder J.R. Kully reached on three walks and scored twice, senior Dominick Schraeder added two runs and an RBI, and senior infielder Nicholas Gonzalez scored once.
The Wolves won the second of three games over visiting Poly, 12-7, on March 15 as Kully went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. DesHotel finished 1-for-2 with two walks, three runs scored and an RBI, while senior infielder Diego Ynzunza collected two hits, a run scored and an RBI. Seid registered a base hit, two runs scored and an RBI, and Schraeder notched a base hit, a run scored and an RBI. Gonzalez tallied a hit and an RBI, Beserra recorded a hit and a run scored, Park had two RBIs and a run scored, and freshman infielder Will Koh scored once. Brunngraber pitched 3.1 perfect relief innings with three strikeouts to earn the save.
After being shut out earlier in the week, visiting Flintridge Prep earned a nice bounce-back victory by defeating North Hills Monroe, 5-3, on March 10. Beserra, who finished 1-for-2 at the plate with two RBIs, pitched six strong innings with nine strikeouts, while Brunngraber worked a clean inning with two strikeouts to earn a save. Brunngraber also added a base hit and an RBI at the plate. Seid tallied a double, two runs scored and an RBI, Gonzalez recorded a base hit, two runs scored and an RBI, and Schraeder registered a triple and a run scored.
The Wolves, sitting comfortably in first place in the league standings, will remain idle for another week before traveling to Alhambra for a nonleague game on Thursday, March 31, at 3:15 p.m.
POLYTECHNIC
The Panthers were swept by crosstown rival Flintridge Prep after falling in the finale of a three-game series, 12-2, moving half a game behind Palos Verdes Chadwick (3-3 in league) for third in the Prep League standings.
Poly (3-4 overall, 2-3 in league) kept the game tied, 1-1, after the first two innings before the Wolves exploded for six runs in the third to take the lead.
Catcher Henry McDonald finished 3-for-3 with a double, two stolen bases and a run scored, while infielder Sean Asperger registered a base hit and drove in both runs. Pitcher Jason Mayo recorded a bae hit and a run scored, and outfielder Max Alsoufiev tallied a base hit.
Poly fell at Flintridge Prep, 12-7, on March 15 as Mayo went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored, while Asperger posted a base hit and two RBIs. Infielder Bradley Schmoke collected a base hit, an RBI and a run scored, and McDonald tallied a hit and an RBI. Infielder Sam Howell and junior pitcher Charles Thorell each had a base hit and a run scored, while outfielders Nicolas Cardenas and Elliott Rowley each scored once.
The Panthers won their third straight contest by edging visiting La Puente Nogales, 2-1, in a nonleague game. Adam Arther pitched five innings with nine strikeouts while allowing just one unearned run on two hits. McDonald brought the pop by blasting a solo home run in the first inning, while Mayo drove in the deciding run on a two-out double in the fifth inning. Schmoke went 2-for-2, Rowley and utility player Griffin Unanue each notched a base hit, and Jonathan Fink scored once.
Poly will be idle before traveling to South Pasadena for a nonleague game on Saturday, April 2, at 10 a.m.
MARANATHA
The Minutemen had their three-game win streak snapped after being edged at Sun Valley Village Christian, 4-3, in an Olympic League game last Friday.
The loss dropped Maranatha (6-4 overall record, 2-1 in league) to third place, a half-game behind Village Christian and La Habra Whittier Christian (3-1 league record) atop the league standings.
A tough first inning saw Village Christian score four runs, but freshman pitch Zachary Strickland shut it down the rest of the game, compiling 5.2 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts. Junior outfielder Dylan Zdunek had a fine day at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored. Senior infielder Nicholas Sartor collected a base hit, an RBI and a stolen base, while senior outfielder Nick Cook tallied a base hit and a run scored. Senior infielder Angelo Aleman and senior catcher Camden Andrews each registered a base hit, and senior designated hitter Mikey Ebner scored once.
The Minutemen routed visiting Redlands Arrowhead Christian, 14-1, in a nonleague game on March 12, as Maranatha entered the bottom of the fifth tied before exploding for 13 runs in the final two innings. Sartor was perfect at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, while Aleman collected a double, four walks, three runs scored, two RBIs and a stolen base. Zdunek tallied three RBIs and two runs scored, Ebner registered a base hit and two runs scored, and junior infielder Isaac Ton went 1-for-3. Senior outfielder Daniel Latshaw recorded a base hit, a run scored and an RBI, while senior outfielder Noah Camonte and junior infielder Bryan Richman each collected a run scored and an RBI. Senior infielder Donovan Gonsal, junior outfielder Jackson Hisey, junior outfielder Daniel Ruiz and Cook each scored once.
Three Minutemen combined to shut out visiting Northridge Heritage Christian, 5-0, in a league game as junior pitcher Garret McGuigan twirled four innings of one-hit ball with eight strikeouts. Strickland compiled two no-hit innings with five strikeouts. Senior Justin Lee tossed one hitless inning with a strikeout. Cook went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, Ebner tallied a double, a run scored and an RBI, and Zdunek recorded a base hit and a run scored. Sartor and Hisey each collected a base hit, Aleman scored twice, and junior infielder Will Allen and Andrews each had an RBI.
Maranatha is scheduled to host Whittier Christian in a crucial league game on Friday, March 25, at 6 p.m.
ST. FRANCIS
The Golden Knights won the rubber game and the season series at Mission Hills Alemany, 4-1, in a Mission League game last Friday. The victory helped St. Francis gain a one-game advantage over Alemany for sixth place with a 3-6 record (4-10 overall).
Senior pitcher Aaron Petersen tossed a complete-game one-hitter with eight strikeouts while only allowing one unearned run. Sophomore infielder Holden Deitch went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, senior catcher Quinn Deitch finished 2-for-3 with an RBI, and sophomore infielder Brody Ruyle and freshman utility player Jordan Lewallen each collected a double and an RBI.
The Golden Knights snapped a six-game losing streak by defeating visiting Alemany, 9-2, on March 16 as senior pitcher Robbie Rivera tossed a complete-game five-hitter with five strikeouts and two runs (one earned). Ruyle finished 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, two RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base. Holden Deitch went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs and an RBI, Quinn Deitch collected two hits, an RBI and a run scored, and senior outfielder Luke Fogarty tallied a triple and two runs scored. Lewallen had a base hit and an RBI, while senior outfielder Diego Robles and sophomore Jordan Viramontes each scored once.
Visiting St. Francis opened its series with Alemany by falling 3-2 in a nine-inning battle. The Golden Knights tied the game 2-2 in the top of the sixth, but Alemany ultimately won on a walk-off in the ninth. Quinn Deitch went 2-for-4, while Fogarty registered a double and a run scored. Robles tallied a single and an RBI, Ruyle and senior Alejandro Ramirez each had a base hit, and Lewallen scored once.
It was a tough week against a powerhouse Studio City Harvard-Westlake, as St. Francis was outscored 40-1 in the series. The Golden Knights dropped the series finale at home, 19-0. Lewallen and Holden Deitch each collected a base hit, while Fogarty and senior infielder Miles Leyva each stole a base.
SFHS lost the second of three games at Harvard-Westlake, 8-1, as Ruyle drove in the Golden Knights’ lone run on a double. Fogarty registered a base hit and a run scored, while Leyva, Viramontes, senior outfielder Simon Lee and junior outfielder Eric Bender each added a base hit.
St. Francis was shut out by visiting Harvard-Westlake, 13-0, to open the three-game series. Holden Deitch recorded a double, while Quinn Deitch and Fogarty each tallied a base hit.
The Golden Knights are scheduled to conclude their league series at rival Los Angeles Loyola on Friday, March 25, at 3:30 p.m.
LA SALLE
The Lancers narrowly defeated visiting Santa Fe Springs St. Paul, 4-2, in a Del Rey League game last Friday as sophomore Kyle Lima pitched four one-hit innings with five strikeouts. Junior Jacob Escamilla earned the win after tossing two innings with one strikeout, while sophomore David Mysza earned the save with one strikeout over an inning of work. Sophomore Andrew-Cody Nieto finished 2-for-2 with a run scored, while junior Valentino Gomez and senior Douglas Pyle each went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
La Salle lost a league game at Gardena Serra, 12-6, last Tuesday. Gomez collected two hits and an RBI, Nieto went 2-for-2, and sophomore Adrian Beltré Jr. and Mysza each registered a hit and an RBI.
La Salle earned a second straight shutout, this time over visiting Sun Valley Village Christian, 6-0, in a nonleague game. Pyle pitched five one-hit innings with four strikeouts to earn the win, while Mysza went 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.
The Lancers shut out visiting Los Angeles Cathedral, 3-0, in a league game. Lima pitched six innings with two strikeouts to earn the win, while Mysza earned the save after working a clean seventh inning. Beltré Jr. went 2-for-2 with a triple and an RBI, junior William Clougherty collected a base hit and two RBI, and Pyle and Nieto each registered a base hit.
La Salle (6-5 overall, 2-2 in league) is scheduled to visit La Puente Bishop Amat for a league on Friday, March 25, at 3:15 p.m.
