Crescenta Valley baseball opens league with soggy win against Pasadena
PASADENA — In the bottom of the fifth inning of Tuesday afternoon’s Pacific League-opening baseball game pitting Crescenta Valley High against Pasadena, rain began to come down steadily.
With the Falcons clinging to a one-run lead, they just needed three outs to make the game official. But the question was would the umpires let the game continue with the rain pelting the field and the players?
Crescenta Valley starting pitcher Trevor Beer worked quickly in the fifth inning. The left-hander struck out two in the frame and picked off a Bulldogs runner to get out of the inning. Immediately following the third out, the umpires called the game and the Falcons walked away with a 1-0 win on the road.
Not only did Beer have to deal with the rain, but also pitched well in a stiff wind throughout the contest. The sophomore allowed just one hit, strick out eight and walked two in his five innings of work.
“When the rain started coming down we just wanted to keep playing,” said Crescenta Valley Coach Phil Torres, whose team finished runner-up in the league last season. “I think that Trevor did a really good job in some tough circumstances. It’s hard to pitch when the rain is coming down and the wind is blowing in your face. But I thought he did a fine job and he battled through it.”
The Falcons (7-5) and Bulldogs (6-8), along with the rest of the league, began a league campaign in which squads will play a two-game home-and-home series in the same week. It is the first season the league has adopted the format. Pasadena and Crescenta Valley will play again at 7 p.m. Friday at CV.
“We will have to see how this new format goes,” Torres said. “The bad thing is that Pasadena is a very good team and after Friday we won’t see them again the rest of the season. But the good thing is that we won’t see their pitcher from today as a starter. He’s a good pitcher and he did a good job today.”
The Bulldogs’ starter, sophomore Alvie Castro, allowed just one hit, struck out six and walked one.
Crescenta Valley could muster just one baserunner in the first three innings, coming when Scott Vinceri was plunked by Castro in the second.
The Falcons finally broke through in the fourth inning. Castro opened the frame by hitting Ryan Lynch and then overthrew first base on a pick-off attempt, allowing Lynch to take second base. The next batter, Jamie Blank, laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt on a 3-2 pitch to advance Lynch to third. Following a walk by Will Smiley, Vinceri hit a comebacker through the box that bounced off of Castro, allowing Lynch to motor home.
The Pasadena defense got Castro out of any further damage by turning a 4-6-3 double play.
Beer allowed just one baserunner through the first three innings on a single to right-center field in the second by Tyler Bradley.
“Even if they weren’t going to call the game after five innings, we just wanted to move things along in that fifth,” Beer said. “The plate umpire kind of had a bigger strike zone today and I tried to take advantage of that. I was just happy with my consistency today and just getting the ball over. I was also really helped out by my defense today.”
Pasadena threatened in the fourth inning, but it would be a mistake that would end the threat. With one out, Bulldog Axel Tanner reached base on an infield error and took second when the throw went array. After a fielder’s choice moved Tanner to third, Beer got into trouble by walking Bradley and then Jesse Zarazua to load the bases with two outs. However, after Zarazua walked, Bradley left second and began to trot to third, although it was still occupied by Tanner. Crescenta Valley catcher Justin Roundtree smartly threw to second, nipping Bradley before he could get back to the base to end the inning.
“I think the baserunner was just fooled thinking that third was open,” Torres said. “But it was a heads-up play by our catcher. He saw what was going on and threw a strike to the shortstop to get him.”
