Valle Vista League sports the best pitching arms in the area
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Two things became obvious to me as I watched for 3 hours and 15 minutes the 12-inning marathon that was San Dimas’ 1-0 victory over Northview, The Times’ 16th-ranked team.
1. Northview’s Pedrozas (cousings Rich and Eddie) are the real deal....
2. ...and so is San Dimas pitcher Chris Drossel.
Drossel, dealing heat in the 86-88 mph range, began the game by striking out four of the first five batters. The 6-foot-1 senior gave up only three hits and ended up with 8 Ks during nine dominant innings of work.
Said San Dimas Coach Mike Reagan, ‘Drossel is a difference-maker. Nobody thought he was the real deal. When we played Covina [in the first week of April], somebody was like, ‘Whose this guy?’ If you’ve been reading the papers, he’s the guy who throws the two-hitter, three-hitter and today struck out eight and pitched another great game. He’s one of those competitors. Just totally a different guy.’
When you take Drossel and Kevin Ponzo of San Dimas, Northview’s trio of Aaron Elias, Eddie Pedroza and Marc Andrade and Covina’s Tyler Pill, the Valle Vista League has some of the best arms in the area. Oh, sorry, the best arms in the area.
‘The nice thing about our league is that in our league the wars are one-run games. Because the pitching is that good,’ said Northview Coach Darren Murphy. ‘You saw San Dimas throw two guys [Drossel and Ponzo] that would be aces on other teams and the two guys we threw today [Pedroza and Andrade] are two of the best in the league as well. And that’s what’s exciting about the Valle Vista, the pitching is the best around. Without a doubt.’
San Dimas’ win, which came on a one-out double by Omar Rodriguez more than three hours after the game had started, puts the Saints (12-5, 5-2) 1 1/2 games behind Northview (14-4, 7-1) in the league standings. With another game between the teams remaining on Friday at 3:15 p.m. at San Dimas, and next week’s series between Northview and Covina, the Valle Vista title race is heating up.
Northview, which has allowed only two runs in league play, still has to be considered the favorite. Don’t count out the Saints or the Covina Bulldogs, however. They are quickly gaining ground on the Vikings.
-- Jaime Cardenas
-- Image from www.1976design.com