Shutout concludes season for Crescenta Valley 8-10 baseball
A postseason run that included three straight victories ended in two consecutive losses for the Crescenta Valley Little League baseball 8-10 All-Stars in Section 2 Tournament play Thursday afternoon.
Crescenta Valley struggled offensively and defensively in an 11-0 five-inning defeat to District 17 champion Pasadena American in Rosamond in elimination-bracket play.
The defeat bounced Crescenta Valley from the postseason as the squad finished with a 3-2 playoff mark that included a 3-0 run to the District 16 title.
Crescenta Valley opened the Section 2 Tournament Wednesday with a 7-4 defeat to District 51 champion Quartz Hill.
“I’m really proud of these guys,” Crescenta Valley coach Larry Terenzi said. “We did so well in the first round and this was honestly a bonus for us. This was a learning experience for the team and it’s all about learning how to win and learning how to lose.”
Crescenta Valley was competitive for a while as the squad only trailed, 2-0, after two innings.
Yet, defensive lapses allowed Pasadena to pull away as the Crown City squad added four runs in the fourth and sealed the mercy-rule victory with five runs in the fifth to lead 11-0.
“Our bats were quiet and our defense was leaky,” Terenzi said. “I would probably say when they scored four runs [in the fourth], that probably came on five errors alone in that inning. I would probably put our errors at eight to 10 tonight.”
Terenzi said Crescenta Valley only mustered three hits, but didn’t quit.
“I told them to keep fighting and don’t keep your heads down,” he said. “They did. They fought and hustled and did what they could. Pasadena just had timely hitting and we didn’t. We only struck out once in the game, but we put the ball in play and their defense was tight.”
