Baseball Notebook: After Break, League Play Resumes For Area Teams

Arcadia

The Apaches’ won a doubleheader against San Dimas on Monday behind strong pitching performances from Nick Sergi (4 2-3 innings, zero runs allowed) and Erik Trask (seven innings, one run, eight strikeouts). Trask also smacked his first home run of the season, a two-run shot in the first inning of the first game.

“It was Nick’s first varsity start so I was very pleased with how he pitched,” Arcadia coach Nick Lemas said. “We have two hurt pitchers (Darren Kerfoot and Andrew Cordeiro) so it was huge for to get solid starts from Nick and Erik.”

Arcadia fed itself a steady diet of formidable nonleague opponents over spring break. Pitching ace K.J. Edson pitched a 3-0 shutout in the Apache Invitational last Tuesday in a highly anticipated matchup with Monrovia. A day later, Arcadia lost 8-1 in the tournament final against Bonita.

“We haven’t won a playoff game since I’ve been here so we’re happy to play against playoff-caliber talent,” Lemas said. “It’s important to challenge the players without burning them out.”

The Apaches will get a whiff of playoff atmosphere on Friday night at 7 p.m. when they play at Crescenta Valley. Both teams are undefeated in the Pacific League, and the Falcons have been white-hot as of late.

“They’re looking pretty good and should make for a nice, competitive atmosphere,” Lemas said. “I know they have some good pitching, but I like our number one guy, too.” 

Lemas’ reference was to Edson who will pitch on Friday.

Crescenta Valley

Spring break couldn’t have been any better for the Falcons. After defeating Burroughs 10-0 on April 1, Crescenta Valley hosted the Babe Herman Tournament, advancing to the finals with wins over Santa Monica, Oak Park and North Torrance. In the tournament’s final game against West Torrance, Elliot Surrey drove in Tyler Pollack for a dramatic 1-0 victory in eight innings.

From there, the Falcons traveled south to San Diego last weekend for a doubleheader with Mater Dei (Chula Vista), but not before coach Phil Torres took the team to watch San Diego State’s Friday matchup with Utah.

“It’s my alma mater so I like to take the guys to see what the game’s like at the next level,” Torres said. “Some of the players met Tony Gwynn so it was a great experience.”

On Saturday, Surrey followed-up his game winning hit by pitching a no-hitter against Mater Dei. He struck out 10 batters and walked just one to pick up a 2-0 victory. The win continues a dynamite start to the year for Surrey who earned All-CIF honors a year ago. 

Crescenta Valley’s great week ended on a sour note, however, when Mater Dei won Saturday’s second game 3-2, putting an end to an impressive 14-game winning streak by the Falcons following an opening-game loss to Claremont.

The nonleague joyride comes to end this week when the Falcons face Pacific League rival Arcadia on Friday. Both teams are undefeated in league. 

Flintridge Prep

When three weeks pass between league games it can be difficult to keep one’s competitive edge. The Rebels have done their best to stay sharp over the last 19 days with nonleague matchups against Bellarmine-Jefferson, St. Michael’s and Village Christian.

“These long breaks are typical since our league has boarding schools that send kids home for long spring breaks,” Rebels coach Buzz Cook said. “I’m always surprised at how quickly the players will develop rust so I try to schedule enough games to keep us busy.” 

Flintridge Prep beat Bellarmine-Jefferson and St. Michael’s handily and split a doubleheader with Village Christian on Friday. All-Prep League pitcher Royce Park was impressive in the opener, throwing a full seven innings in the 12-2 win.

“Everything was working,” Park said. “I was locating my pitches, the defense made some nice plays, and we put a lot of runs of the board.”

The Rebels dropped the second game 10-3, but Cook was happy with the effort considering he was down one starter due to Cole Rademacher’s first-game ejection.

“We had plenty of opportunities to score, but didn’t get a hit when we needed it,” Cook said.

Rademacher’s ejection came by way of an unfavorable interpretation of the rules. Rademacher rounded third while the Crusaders’ right fielder made a throw home for a play at the plate. The throw was a few yards up the line and Rademacher attempted a slide, but he also threw his arms up, drawing enough contact for the umpire to rule a collision, thereby automatically ejecting Rademacher from the game (and the next game) under CIF rules.

“I thought he was raising his hands to protect himself, so it’s a tough break,” said Cook.

The Rebels resume Prep league play against Chadwick on the road on Tuesday and at home on Thursday.

St. Francis

The Knights got a huge win last Tuesday when they rallied late to beat first place Chaminade 5-4. They trailed All-CIF pitcher Mathew Troupe through six innings, but P. J. Dezotell sparked a two-out rally in the seventh capped by a game-winning RBI-single by David Olmedo-Barrera.

“I was looking fastball, he threw one outside, and I went with it,” said Olmedo-Barrera. “It’s a huge win for us.”

The Knights dropped the series’ second game at Chaminade on Thursday, but with three wins in the Mission league, the team has already matched its win total from a year ago and currently sits in a third place tie with Notre Dame.

St. Francis will face Harvard-Westlake on the road on Tuesday and at home on Thursday.

Monrovia

It’s spring break at last for Monrovia. The Wildcats are likely welcoming the time off with open arms after getting roughed up in the Apache Invitational.

Monrovia fell 3-0 to Arcadia in Tuesday’s battle of Rio Hondo and Pacific league champs, as pitcher Joe Mata was outdueled by Arcadia’s KJ Edson.

Things didn’t get any better on Wednesday when Glendora knocked around a tired Monrovia staff en route to a 15-5 victory.

A week off should prove beneficial for a lineup that co-head coach Brad Blackmore admits is “struggling to score, but battling.”

The Wildcats will face Prep League champ Pasadena Poly on Thursday before resuming league play next Wednesday against La Canada. Monrovia remains undefeated in the Rio Hondo League.

La Salle

How good are these Lancers? Bowdien Derby’s no-hitter last week certainly put a spotlight on a team that has rebounded from a 6-6 finish in the Del Rey league a year to start 5-0 this season. This week La Salle faces its biggest test yet in a two-game series with defending league champ Bishop Amat.

The Lancers are riding a wave of momentum having won three league games last week against Bishop Montgomery and St. Monica (twice). Derby is swinging a hot stick with a .317 batting average and two homers along with Chris Williams (.342), and John Auer (15 RBI).

South Pasadena

After disheartening results in Crescenta Valley’s Babe Herman Tournament (0-4), the Tigers are desperate for a win. Recent woes could be quickly forgotten if South Pasadena can get back on track this week against San Marino on Wednesday. 

Hitting hasn’t been the problem. Anthony D’ Oro, Dylan Trimarchi and Conor Bednarski are each batting .395 or better. Pitching, however, has been hard to come by with D’ Oro the only pitcher to log more than 18 innings.

“We’re pretty thin at pitcher and we have some sore arms,” South Pasadena coach Anthony Chevrier said. “After the (recent) time off, we’ll be fine.”

In the Spotlight 

Major League Baseball is in full swing and players from around the area continue to chime in on the pro ballplayers they admire and strive to emulate.

David Olmedo-Barrera, shortstop, St. Francis: “My favorite player has always been Shawn Green. I know he’s not around anymore, but I loved him on the Dodgers.”

Royce Park, pitcher/third baseman, Flintridge Prep: “My favorite pitcher is Felix Hernandez. I like his charisma and he’s got nasty stuff.”

Dave Hubinger, catcher, St. Francis: “Derek Jeter. The guy’s a born winner and a leader.”

Who do ballplayers in the San Gabriel Valley support? 14 players on six teams weighed in on their favorite teams.

Dodgers (6); Angels (2); Yankees (2); Red Sox (2); Tigers (1); Cardinals (1).

Stat Line of the Week

Crescenta Valley’s Elliott Surrey tossed a no-hitter on the road against Mater Dei (Chula Vista) last Saturday to earn mention here for the second consecutive week. Surrey walked just one batter in the first inning before retiring the next 20 batters, 10 via strikeout.

“He’s been consistent all year giving us quality starts and he was phenomenal on Saturday,” Torres said.

Games of the Week

Tuesday, 3:15 p.m. and Friday, 3:15 p.m. – La Salle vs. Bishop Amat

This is what the Lancers have been waiting for. A 5-0 start in the Del Rey league coupled with a no-hitter by ace Bowdien Derby on April 4 has earned La Salle a Division 2 ranking of ninth in the latest CIF-Southern Section polls. Bishop Amat sits atop that same list and has won the Del Rey league four years running.

They will square off Tuesday in La Puente before Friday’s matchup in Pasadena.

Wednesday, 3:30 p.m. – San Marino at South Pasadena

The road to the playoffs begins now for the third place Tigers and fourth place Titans. The teams will have an excellent chance to get a leg up on one another in their second Rio Hondo League meeting on Wednesday.

Thursday, 3:30 p.m. – Monrovia at Pasadena Poly

In this intriguing non-league matchup, the defending Rio Hondo League champs take on the defending Prep League champs. The Panthers, ranked second in Division 6 in the latest CIF-Southern Section coach polls, should provide a formidable fight for the Wildcats in an otherwise idle week.

Friday, 7 p.m. – Arcadia at Crescenta Valley

The Falcons won seven consecutive league titles from 2002-2008 under coach Phil Torres, but the Apaches have taken over as the top dog in the Pacific league since then, winning back-to-back titles including a perfect 14-0 record in 2010.

Both teams are undefeated in league and ride a hot streak heading into Friday’s showdown. Crescenta Valley won the Babe Herman Tournament last week, while Arcadia finished second in the Apache Invitational.

“We used to play each team three times, but now just twice so the game is that much more important,” Torres said. “They always play us tough. We expect a big crowd.”

Joe Morrison's weekly “Baseball Notebook” appears on all Patch sites in the San Gabriel Valley area.