Baseball Notebook: Tournament Play is Underway

As spring break heats up, so has the competition in the Crescenta Valley’s Babe Herman Tournament and Arcadia’s Apache Invitational. 

Monrovia

Sophomore Mason Bryant had perhaps his biggest hit of the Wildcats’ young season on Monday when he drilled a two-out single into right field with the bases loaded to drive in the go-ahead runs in the bottom of the sixth inning against Nogales. It was Bryant’s first at-bat of the game and led the Wildcats to 5-3 come-from-behind victory.

“It was big for us since we’ve been slumping at the plate,” Monrovia coach Brad Blackmore said. “When you’re struggling to hit, you can either cave in or battle and we’ve been battling.”

Catcher Adrien Velasco got Monrovia on the board in the fourth inning when he hit an RBI-triple off the left field fence. Velasco later scored on a single by Joe Mata.

“Yeah, I think that would have been a home run with last year’s bats,” Velasco said. “I’m swinging a wood bat right now, and I think that might have been a fly out with a new metal bat.”

Chris Burkholder pitched a solid five innings for Monrovia, allowing just two earned runs, but fielding errors and walks quickly raised Burkholder’s pitch count and he was relieved with no decision. Gabe Duran held Nogales at three runs and picked up the win, while Kevin Shue earned a save.

The win improves Monrovia to 1-1 in the Apache Invitational after a loss to West Covina last Saturday. The Wildcats will face Arcadia on Tuesday and could land in the tournament championship game Wednesday night with a win over the Apaches. 

Arcadia

After winning the Pacific League a year ago, Arcadia has continued to establish itself as a powerhouse in the San Gabriel Valley. The Apaches reeled off four consecutive shutout victories last week and made a strong impression to open their home Apache Invitational by beating Nogales 2-0 and West Covina 5-3.

Junior Erik Trask pitched six scoreless innings against Nogales to pick up the win. 

“I was locating my pitches,” Trask said. “I threw mostly fastballs and cutters. They didn’t have many lefties so I didn’t throw my changeup that much.”

Arcadia turned to junior Darren Kerfoot against West Covina and Kerfoot came through with five strikeouts through four scoreless innings. Jeff Kim earned a save after the Bulldogs rallied in the fifth inning.

Arcadia will face Monrovia at home on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a much-anticipated matchup of Rio Hondo and Pacific League champs.

South Pasadena

The up-and-down Tigers had an interesting matchup with Pasadena in the opening round of the Babe Hermann Tournament, but starting pitcher Joey Harmon fell to a 4-0 deficit early while the lineup struggled and eventually fell 11-0.

“We’ve been putting ourselves in holes the last couple games either by errors or walks,” South Pasadena coach Anthony Chevrier said. “We’ve been having bad at-bats, but I think we’ll turn it around.” 

South Pasadena’s recent struggles have taxed the team’s pitching arms, but the Tigers will need to get through two more games in the Babe Herman tournament before reaching a weeklong break. 

The Tigers remain in third place in the Rio Hondo League and will resume league play against San Marino next Wednesday.

St. Francis

Following a sixth place finish in the Mission League, a much-improved Knights squad showed that it can play with anyone by splitting two games with defending champs Crespi last week. 

“Joey (Malham) pitched great in the first game and we were ready to play,” St. Francis coach Brian Esquival said. “We didn’t have the same intensity in Friday’s game, but that happens when you have a young team.”

The Knights are also making a nice run in the Chino Tournament where they’ve picked up a 9-7 win over Los Altos and a 15-1 victory over Serrano on April 2. The tournament is extended over four Saturdays and St. Francis will continue competition against San Dimas this Saturday.

“We’re cautiously optimistic at this point,” Esquival said. “There’s been some growing pains because we haven’t learned how to win consistently yet. Malham has pitched great, but we’re just piecing together the innings when he’s out. I think some of our young guys will step up.”

La Canada

The Spartans have played much better than their 0-4 record in the Rio Hondo League would suggest. They’ve lost twice by just one run and played defending champ Monrovia to a 7-4 loss last week.

La Canada has no remaining games this week, but will have an opportunity to get back on track with league matchups against Temple City and San Marino next week.

La Salle

The Lancers have put last year’s third place finish behind them and gotten off to 3-0 start in the Del Rey League that could improve to 5-0 after two matchups with last place St. Monica this week. La Salle’s biggest test will come next week when they face defending champ Bishop Amat twice.

San Marino

Senior Alan Felix pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit to topple Maranatha 5-2 on Saturday. The Titans have no games on the docket this week, but will look to improve upon a 1-2 record in the Rio Hondo League against South Pasadena next Wednesday. 

In the Spotlight

With the start of a new Major League Baseball season this past week, a handful of players talked about the pro ballplayers they admire and strive to emulate.

Erik Trask, pitcher, Arcadia: “I like Tim Lincecum. He’s not big, but he’s a beast. He approaches the game the right way, works hard, and it doesn’t matter that he’s undersized.”

Adrien Velasco, catcher, Monrovia: “Buster Posey. He’s a great hitter, but he takes pride in his defense too.”

KJ Edson, pitcher, Arcadia: “It’s hard for me to emulate anyone since there’s not many sidearm pitchers like me in the majors. But I admire Mariano Rivera because he’s been getting the job done for so long.”

Games of the Week

Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. – Monrovia at Arcadia

Arcadia won the Pacific League last year. Monrovia won the Rio Hondo League last year. They’re both currently in first place. Enjoy.

Wednesday, TBA – TBA vs. Crescenta Valley

The Falcons have played well to open their home Babe Herman Tournament by beating Santa Monica and Oak Park. Barring a loss to North Torrance on Tuesday night, Crescenta Valley will meet the winner of the National bracket in Wednesday’s final game at 7 p.m. If that team happens to be Pasadena, then fans will be treated to a preview of two epic Pacific League games scheduled for later this season.

Friday, 4:00 p.m. – Village Christian at Flintridge Prep

The Rebels will host Village Christian of Sun Valley in a Friday doubleheader. Kyle McDonald is currently batting .462 with 12 runs scored for the Rebels, who are currently on a two-week hiatus from Mission League play.

Stat Line of the Week

Crescenta Valley’s Elliott Surrey struck out nine batters in five innings to earn a 5-4 victory over Santa Monica on Saturday. Surrey was also 4-for-4 at the plate with three doubles.

La Salle's . Derby struck out nine, walked five, hit a batter, but he failed to give up a single hit as the Lancers remained undefeated in Del Rey League play.

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