Photo by Thomas Forman
Assoc. Photography Editor
Baseball concluded its Rio Hondo League campaign after falling to the Monrovia Wildcats in a close loss last Thursday, May 11. The Tigers managed to jump ahead with an early home run but could not slow down the Wildcats’ offense, resulting in a 4-2 loss for South Pas.
Already down two players due to AP testing, South Pas took the field with senior pitcher Griffin Yamada starting his first game of the regular season. Although most of the Wildcat players were quick to assume their game against the untested pitcher would be easy, Yamada made sure to prove his worth out on the field.
For most of the game, South Pas struggled to provide an offense against Monrovia’s pitching, thus leaving the team scoreless for the first three innings. The Wildcats nearly scored in the first inning after placing runners at second and third. Although the Tigers made it out of the first unscaved, Monrovia continued to place runners on base every inning.
On offense, South Pas continued to run into the same problems when at the plate. With little offense being provided by the rest of the team, senior Kyle Ninomiya stepped up for the Tigers and launched the team’s first and only home run of the season in the top of the fourth, giving South Pas a 1-0 lead.
In response, Monrovia fired back in the fifth by loading the bases. With the Wildcats on the verge of scoring, Yamada once again came in clutch for the Tigers after throwing out a runner heading for home, followed by junior Edwin Espinal throwing out the runner at first base for a double play.
Although South Pas secured their lead for one more inning, their chances of victory were short lived as Monrovia answered back in the sixth. Scoring four unanswered runs, the Wildcats led 4-1 heading into the seventh inning. South Pas attempted to mount a comeback of their own after junior Jackson Totleben doubled, followed by sophomore Sammy Luna reaching first base. Senior Aaron Salinas brought home Totleben off of a sac fly to make the score 4-2, but South Pas grounded out the following play to end the game with a final score of 4-2.
With the loss, South Pasadena baseball concludes the season with a 7-14-1 overall record, along with a 1-11 record in league.