Crescenta Valley baseball edged by Upland in nailbiter

GLENDALE — A pitchers’ duel made for a riveting, well-played final game of the Crescenta Valley High-hosted Babe Herman Tournament on Tuesday night.

Trevor Beer took the mound for the Falcons and shined in a complete game in which the senior struck out 12 batters with no walks.

His counterpart, Tucker Juline of the Upland Scots, was just as impressive, striking out nine while giving up just three hits and one walk.

The difference was one run, with Juline getting just enough run support before a late Falcons threat fell short in a 1-0 defeat.

“Their guy is a sophomore and he pitched a great game and kept us off-balance,” Crescenta Valley coach Phil Torres said. “We gave ourselves a chance at the end but a line drive went right to a [fielder].”

The loss was the lone defeat for the Falcons (7-4) in the tournament after wins over Paramount, Cajon and Carter — the latter of which was an 11-5 victory earlier on Tuesday.

Rain threatened the night game, but quickly let up to allow for an evening of good baseball.

Beer and Juline set the tone early, each striking out two in the first inning. Will Grimm led off the bottom half with a single, but would not advance.

“Get right after it and go after them,” Beer, the reigning All-Area Baseball Player of the Year, said of his approach. “If they hit it, they hit it; just be aggressive.”

Brian Ghattas reached scoring position in the second with a double but would be left on as well.

The Falcons wouldn’t get another hit until the seventh.

Upland scored the game’s only run in the third inning on three consecutive singles, highlighted by Jose Cevallos’ run-scoring bloop. Grimm stopped the rally with a diving catch in foul territory.

“They got their run on a bloop and then another bloop,” Torres said. “I thought we had a play at third, but didn’t hang on to the ball. I think he would’ve been called out. But they put good at-bats against [Beer.]”

The play at third came just before Cevallos’ at-bat—a hit-and-run that resulted in runners at the corners with two out.

In the bottom of the seventh, Beer led off with a two-strike single. Colby Rees, who pinch ran, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brian Erickson. Chase Smith then drew a walk before Jake Schaffer flew out and Ghattas lined out.

“That’s baseball—sometimes you [bloop] it and it drops in and sometimes you smoke the ball right to a guy,” said Beer, who allowed six hits.

Crescenta Valley has its annual doubleheader at San Diego Mater Dei on Saturday before opening Pacific League play on Tuesday looking to defend its Pacific League title with some valuable experience gained.

“It felt like a playoff game,” Torres said of Tuesday night. “But that’s why we schedule these on purpose.”