Glendale Angelenos bounce back from first loss with 14-2 win over East L.A. Dodgers
NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Any question or concern Glendale Coach Tony Riviera might have had regarding his Angelenos’ effort following Thursday’s loss was answered early and often Friday evening.
Glendale’s summer collegiate baseball club scored five runs in the opening inning and continued to produce at a consistent rate and closed out the series against the East Los Angeles Dodgers’ white team with a 14-2 win at Stengel Field.
The Angelenos (3-1) recovered in convincing fashion from Thursday’s hiccup — a 6-5 loss marred by a sluggish effort — by scoring almost instantly and finishing with 18 hits as they took three of four games from East Los Angeles (1-3) to open the season.
“Winning is what we’re supposed to do,” Riviera said. “I think great teams know how to lose. And even though you never want to lose a game, you want to see how guys bounce back after a loss. I think guys took that loss very hard because they realized they settled and they were complacent, and they had to make a statement today.”
With one away in the first, the Angelenos got their next three batters on base. Ellis Whitman sent a line drive up the middle, Nicholas LaFace walked on a full count and Hector Gomez singled to load the bases.
A strikeout later, Danny Casey was hit by a pitch, scoring Whitman for a 1-0 lead.
Edgar Montes (Glendale Community College) followed with a two-out RBI double. It was the start of a big night for Montes, who finished five for five with three doubles and two runs scored.
“We just said we have to get that ‘W’,” Montes said. “We didn’t want to lose two in a row. We came in with a better attitude and we were more focused. Coach preaches not to settle, keep going and don’t let them back in the game.”
Montes’ Vaqueros teammate, Julian Jarrad, proceeded with a run-scoring single. And then Montes scored on an ensuing wild pitch, capping a 5-0 cushion.
East Los Angeles scored one run against Glendale’s right-handed pitcher, Angel Rodriguez, who struck out three and allowed four hits and no walks in three innings. From there, the Angelenos shuffled through five different pitchers the rest of the way.
The rest of the battery for Glendale yielded one run and five hits.
“I think the pitching was a bright spot,” Riviera said. “To see Angel Rodriguez get a quality start was important [after redshirting his freshman year at Cal State Northridge]. And I just think our bullpen was lights out.”
The Angelenos scored three between the third and fourth innings, and then six between the fifth and sixth.
Matt McCalister went three for five with a run scored. Jarrad finished two for five with a triple and fielder’s choice, which eventually led to a run in the sixth inning that gave Glendale a 12-2 lead.
“After the loss [Thursday], it was tough. But I know we were going to come back and pick it up,” Rodriguez said. “The mentality, it was more focused. I was glad I was able to set the tone for the team, and they came behind me and scored the runs.
“I feel like we 100 percent didn’t want it [Thursday] and that’s why we came back today and we realized what’s actually in front of us and we took it.”