San Diego Prep Baseball : Manuel Mendivil Concludes Big Week With Big Game

Manuel Mendivil of Mar Vista High School pitched a four-hit shutout Friday for his second victory of the week, beating Montgomery, 3-0, in a Metro-Mesa League baseball game on the Aztecs’ field.

The victory kept No. 8 Mar Vista (6-2, 14-5) in first place just ahead of Bonita Vista (5-2, 10-8) and Montgomery (3-2-2, 10-5-5) in the Mesa standings.

Mendivil, who leads San Diego County with his 9-1 record, stranded eight Aztec runners, including two on third base. He also was 2-for-3 with an RBI.

It was quite a follow to his victorious three-inning stint against Castle Park on Tuesday. Yet Mendivil said he wasn’t tired after his 10-inning week.

“My arm never hurts,” Mendivil said. “It’s amazing. Sometimes I ask myself why. Rubber arm, I guess.”

Jim Goodwin, Mar Vista coach, said he wasn’t worried about putting too much strain on Mendivil’s arm.

“We don’t have another game until next Friday, so he has a week to rest,” Goodwin said. “And he’s not an overpowering pitcher. He doesn’t come in and throw really hard.”

Instead, Mendivil let his fielders do much of the work for him. He didn’t strike out a batter and walked three. The Aztecs often hit the ball hard, but usually at Mar Vista fielders.

The Mariners were limited to six hits by Montgomery right-hander Ramiro Ramirez, but they made their hits count. In the first, David Vega led off by reaching on an infield error. He stole second and scored when the next hitter, Victor Vargas, singled to left-center field. Two outs later, Vargas scored on a single to left by Mendivil.