SAN MARINO >> The Monrovia High School baseball team isn’t ready to release its stranglehold on the Rio Hondo League just yet.
The Wildcats ran their league winning streak to 18 games by rallying past previously undefeated San Marino for a 6-2 win on Friday afternoon.
“It was a helluva game,” Monrovia head coach Brad Blackmore said. “They (San Marino) played well, too. That last inning may not indicate it, but that was a good ballgame. Nobody’s crowning anybody on April 1. I’m not going to say it’s not a big win. It’s a big win for us. Especially on the road.”
Monrovia improved to 9-2 overall and 4-0 in league. San Marino, which had posted daunting numbers while winning its first 14 games, fell to 14-1 overall and 3-1 in league. The teams will play twice more this season.
The Titans appeared ready to validate their scintillating start to the season. San Marino led 2-0 thanks in part to a solid outing from starter Carson Glazier, who left after 4 2/3 shutout innings. That’s when the boat started to spring some leaks.
Monrovia turned up the pressure in the top of the sixth inning by running wild on the basepaths and taking advantage of some wildness by Titans pitching. Isaiah Ramos, who reached base after being hit by a pitch, scored on a RBI groundout by Jayden Scott to make it 2-1. Moments later, speedster Steven Ochoa tied the score on a RBI single by Gabriel Arellano.
“We had to start doing something,” Blackmore said. “It’s such a game of momentum and we felt like we grabbed it there. Speed, baserunning and putting the ball in play are our strengths.
“It seems like we just kept the ball rolling. We were very aggressive, but to be aggressive you’ve got to keep putting people on base.”
San Marino looked like it may go back ahead in the bottom of the sixth after getting a runner to third with one out. Monrovia reliever Gustavo Garcia got out of the situation, though, and later picked up the win.
Monrovia was right back at it in the top of the seventh. This time, San Marino’s fielding woes helped open the floodgates as the Wildcats scored four times to break the game open. James Wright, Ben Goettling, Ramos and Scott all scored to make it 6-2.
“At the end of the day, if things like that are going to happen, you want them to happen now,” San Marino head coach Mack Paciorek said. “It was unfortunate that a lot of things came together at the same time, and some flaws were exposed. But the reality is that you better figure out if you have flaws because you definitely don’t want that to take place later in the season when it really, really counts.”
