Woodfin’s Tender Arm Is Too Tough for Poly in Two-Hit, 4-0 Victory

Off the mound, Olonzo Woodfin is a nice enough guy. He’s considerate to his parents. He’s a popular kid on the Sylmar High campus. He drinks lots of milk, gets pretty good grades and keeps his orthodontist happy by brushing his teeth at least twice a day.

On the mound, however, Woodfin’s a bit more enigmatic, a little more hard to fathom. Like a modern-day Ryne Duren, the bespectacled left-hander throws hard and isn’t afraid to wake up a hitter with a pitch that’s high and tight, a little sonata for the skull.

In Thursday’s 4-0 win over Poly, Woodfin had a no-hitter for 5 innings and finished with a two-hit shutout as the Spartans (11-4, 9-2) moved to within 1 1/2 games of Poly (13-3, 11-1) in East Valley League play.

Sylmar defeated Greg Nealon (6-2), who lost his second straight game, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk in 4 innings. Earlier in the season, Nealon beat Sylmar and Woodfin with a three-hit shutout, 4-0.

Although the pain Woodfin (8-1) experienced in his shoulder earlier this week took a little off his fastball, he showed that when it comes to pitchers in this league, he’s still the baddest of the Eastie Boys.

“This is as good as he’s pitched,” Sylmar Coach John Klitsner said. “He’s had outings where he’s been more dominant, but today he was a little tired and his arm was a little weak, so he had to work hitters and be under control.”

Poly entered the game with seven regulars batting .350 or better, but only one Poly baserunner reached second before Luis Porres doubled to left with two out in the top of the sixth.

“He wasn’t just overpowering, he wasn’t just dominant,” Klitsner said, “He pitched.”

As a result of the tenderness in Woodfin’s arm, Poly batters saw an assortment of curves and off-speed pitches, mixed judiciously with an occasional fastball.

Joey Speakes, Poly’s leadoff hitter who entered the game batting .538, saw Woodfin’s second pitch of the game sail over his head. Intentional or not, Woodfin made a point: Welcome to Sylmar, and here’s a little Spartan souvenir.

Speakes struck out three times as Woodfin fanned seven Poly batters to raise his season total to 112 in 61 innings. The victory was Woodfin’s second shutout of the season and lowered his earned-run average to 1.13. The win also avenged last month’s 4-0 loss to Poly, Woodfin’s only defeat of the season.

“I was working them in and out,” said Woodfin, a 6-4 junior. “I didn’t get that many strikeouts, but this time we played great defense and didn’t make any errors.”

Woodfin also contributed with the bat, going 2 for 3 and scoring a run. In 13 at-bats, Woodfin has six hits.

Sylmar took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Martin Valencia bunted home Tony Taisacan on a suicide squeeze on a 1-2 pitch. The Spartans picked up another run in the fourth when Woodfin led off with a single and later scored on Dave Nunez’s single to right.

Sylmar scored two more in the fifth when first baseman Donnie Kelley, making his first appearance as the cleanup hitter, singled home two runs.

“That is as good as this team can play,” Klitsner said. “This is the kind of game you practice six months for.”

Woodfin was in trouble twice. After Porres broke up the no-hit bid, Danny Gil followed with a single to left to put runners on the corners. Woodfin got out of the jam, however, by retiring Bill Chavez on a ground ball to second. In the seventh, Woodfin walked two batters but induced Hans Hekking to ground to first to end the game.

Afterward, wearing his nice-guy hat again, Woodfin was asked how he would pitch to Poly the next time around. Would it be like he did in last month’s loss or like he did Thursday?

“I’ll probably go at them the same way I did this time,” he smiled. “You have to go with what’s going best.”

You know, wearing them out by working them in and out.