Baseball: Hart’s pitching silences grumbling about first-round foes

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One of the predominant murmurs floating through the stands at Hart HS on Thursday afternoon had to do with the third-seeded Indians getting shafted by the Southern Section playoff committee. I heard at least three different people gripe about how Foothill League rival Valencia, which finished second in league to Hart, got an easier first-round foe than did the Indians.

I’ll agree Hart was served the division’s toughest opening-round draw in having to face a dangerous Westlake team. But this sort of thing happens every time playoff seedings are announced, so people need to get over it.

Besides, judging by the Indians’ 5-1 victory over the Warriors in the opening round of the Southern Section-Toyota Division I playoffs, Hart supporters shouldn’t worry too much about this team -- especially when Mike Montgomery or Trevor Bauer, pictured, are on the mound.

Montgomery put in a typical performance, giving up four hits and striking out seven in five innings to get the win. I was a little perplexed when Hart Coach Jim Ozella opted to replace Montgomery with Bauer at the start of the sixth, but Bauer tossed two hitless innings -- so no harm, right?

I was also impressed with Hart’s offensive strategy. Smart base running and timely hitting allowed the Indians to work runners into scoring position with apparent ease. Leadoff batter Spencer Moniz drove in a run on two hits and also scored a run, and Jenzen Torres’ RBI double in the fourth drove in the winning run.

And I had a hunch when Torres smacked that ball out to the right-field corner that the Indians were in the clear. Pitching is vital to postseason success and Hart showed once again it has to be considered a favorite to be performing the Dodger Stadium dogpile in a couple of weeks.

See, there’s no reason to squabble and scoff over first-round opponents when you’ve got a stable of arms the way Hart does. By the way, Hart will play Canyon Springs in the second round Tuesday.

Here are Ozella’s thoughts on the game:

And here’s what Westlake Coach Zach Miller had to say:

-- Austin Knoblauch

-- Image by Austin Knoblauch