Story by Julia Gildersleeve
Staff writer
Photo by Mac Shropshire
Staff photographer
On Monday, May 4, the Tigers played against the Arcadia Apaches in a close game. The Tigers kept their heads high throughout the entire game, but the Apaches were unmatched.
South Pasadena started the match off on defense at the top of the first inning. Arcadia’s loud cheering from the dugout boosted their confidence to get a runner on first and second, however, sophomore infielder Matt Rogers made a spectacular catch and double play to get them out. A pop fly from the Apaches landed precisely in sophomore outfield Cody Robinson’s glove to close out the top of the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Apaches walked Robinson to first base. When senior first and third baseman Aaron Kawasaki walked up to bat, Arcadia began to worry since his last hit was strong. Kawasaki hit a grounder towards third base, which secured his spot on first base before stealing second during the next play. However, this move attracted the Apache pitcher’s attention, causing him to throw the ball to second instead of pitching. Kawasaki dove back to the base, but to no avail. The next batter, senior pitcher and infielder Phil Malatesta, hit a high ball to center field that was easily caught, and the batter after him struck out. These plays concluded the first inning with both teams tied, 0–0.
The top of the second inning was short. Arcadia batters hit two high balls, which South Pasadena outfielders caught with ease. Finally, a grounder hit to first base guaranteed another out for the Apaches.
Both teams remained at 0–0 at the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore second baseman and outfield Ernie Valdez hit for the Tigers first. After he was tagged out on first base, junior outfield and pitcher Julian Barnes and senior second baseman Isaiah Esquivel both struck out to end the inning.
The top of the third inning had a chaotic beginning. A Tiger infielder dove and missed a catch, but the outfielder right behind him quickly grabbed the ball and held the runner at first. The Tigers walked the next batter, and when the time was right, he sneakily stole second with his teammate on third. After a wild pitch by the Tigers, the catcher was disoriented. When he recovered the ball, his throw to third base bounced on the dirt and went completely off-track. Arcadia scored their first run after this mistake, increasing their score to 1–0.
To make up for the mistake, the Tigers surprised the audience with a cunning double play. They chased the Arcadia runner halfway between first and second base back onto first base in a pickle before chucking the ball to third to get the runner headed there out.
The Tigers resumed batting at the bottom of the third inning. The first two batters had powerful, deep hits, but the Apaches were unfazed and seemed to catch the hits with ease. Robinson bunted and dove just in time to be safe on first. When Kawasaki was batting, Robinson stole second due to a slight slipup in Arcadia’s defense. The game score remained 1–0 with Arcadia in the lead after Kawasaki was thrown out.
In the top of the fourth inning, an Arcadia runner made it to first, and South Pasadena caught a grounder to center field. In the next play, the Tigers got the runner headed to second out, but missed the double play at first base. The Tigers switched out the current pitcher for Robinson, who was decently successful in striking Apache batters out. However, he balked, which caused the umpire to advance an Arcadia runner home. This increased Arcadia’s score 2–0.
The bottom of the fourth and the top of the fifth were uneventful for the Tigers, with both teams striking out quietly and scoring no runs.
In the sixth inning, Arcadia got three runners across home plate after one of their players slammed the baseball out of the park, blowing up the score to 5–0 with Arcadia leading. So, when the Tigers loaded their bases in the bottom of the sixth, with two outs already, everyone in the crowd held their breath in anticipation of the next hit. Then, the Tigers struck out, leaving the field defeated.
The top of the seventh inning was a breeze. Malaesta subbed in for the current pitcher, and despite walking the first hitter, he struck out the next two. The final hitter for Arcadia was caught out after hitting a high ball to center field.
Finally, in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Tigers were running out of energy. Senior shortstop and pitcher Anthony Ortiz hit a deep ball, but Arcadia managed to catch it. The next two hitters had decent at-bats, however, the match ended with Arcadia winning, 5–0.
Baseball later played against the Troy Warriors in a non-league game at home on Tuesday, May 5, at 3:30 p.m.