MONROVIA >> The celebration was minimal on Tuesday by the Monrovia High School baseball team.
Perhaps that’s how it is when a team clinches at least a share of the league championship with three league games left. Or maybe the Wildcats are waiting until the Rio Hondo League title is totally theirs.
Either way, Monrovia kept rolling on Tuesday. The Wildcats posted a 5-1 win over Temple City to clinch a share of the Rio Hondo League title and somewhat alleviate the potential for some late-season dramatics in the league standings
“We wrapped up a share today, but I don’t think our guys want to settle for that,” Monrovia head coach Brad Blackmore said. “My guys don’t waver too much. It’s not a crew that needs the hype up. They’ve handled their business. They’ve dealt with a lot of things and they’ve continued to go out and play good games. They know what’s at stake. I don’t need to build anything up.”
Monrovia improved to 19-3 overall and 9-0 in league. The Wildcats play Temple City on Friday then have next week free of league games before finishing the season with two against preseason league favorite and defending champ San Marino, which is 13-7 overall, 6-3 in league and desperately hoping for a Monrovia slipup against Temple City on Friday.
The Wildcats rode ace Brian McConnell as far as they could on Tuesday, which was into the seventh inning. Trailing 5-0, Temple City got a run and forced McConnell from the game. But Wildcats reliever Justin Rosedale, who entered with the bases loaded and nobody out, slammed the door shut without allowing any further damage.
“We kicked a ball to start the seventh and I don’t think that helped anything,” Blackmore said. “Justin Rosedale came in and just did a great job. That’s what he’s done for us all year. I keep preaching to these guys that we have good arms and they have to stay ready.”
In what’s become the norm, Monrovia got off to a hot start and staked itself to a nice lead before the first inning was over. The Wildcats scored three runs in the first, punctuated by Isaiah Ramos’ two-run double.
Monrovia add two more in the fifth, thanks to RBI singles by Ramos and Eric Herrera.
“I’m going to keep wearing the same clothes and doing the same things, because getting these early leads is nothing you can ever take for granted,” Blackmore said. “Especially because Temple City has a helluva team.
“We got three on them. By no means does that wrap anything up, but it’s a nice to feeling to know you can afford a bad inning or a bad sequence here and there, which we really didn’t have until the seventh inning.”
