Arcadia Turns Duel at Hoover Into Rout With an 11-Run Fifth

In the fourth inning of Friday’s game, after Hoover High pitcher Paul Derrick struck out two Arcadia batters and got a third to pop up, Apache Coach John Meiers loudly predicted the course the game would take--it would be a “pitchers’ duel.”

Unfortunately for Hoover, the Arcadia players didn’t listen to their coach’s prophecy.

The Apaches batted around in the fifth inning, scoring 11 runs, and cruised to a 17-5 Pacific League win at Hoover.

Hoover (7-3, 2-2 in league play), ranked No. 8 in The Times’ Valley poll coming into the week, lost its third game in a row and dropped into third place in league standings behind Pasadena and Arcadia (12-3, 4-1).

Bob Richter led off the fifth with a single to right field, then Derrick walked the next four batters.

Jon Graves and David Heflin singled and Bubba Woodall doubled before another walk. Then Richter pounded a home run over the left-field fence. The next batter, Mike Gerken, followed with a shot over the fence in right.

Before Bryan Day stepped in to staunch the bleeding, Arcadia held a 15-0 advantage.

Hoover mounted a four-run rally in the sixth inning. Jose Robles, Mickey Moreno, Adam Wiggins and George Trejo each singled and David Berkey and Reggie Mercado reached base on errors.

Although Arcadia held a comfortable lead, Meiers still chided his players for allowing Hoover to rally.

“I’ve just stopped worrying right now,” he said, leaning back against a pole as the teams went through the postgame handshakes. “I’ve seen some big leads vanish pretty quick here.”

Robles did his best to further shrink the Arcadia advantage by hitting a home run to lead off the seventh inning. The next three batters went quietly, however, to end the game.

Arcadia scored twice in the second inning as Graves stole home and Erich Trapp scored on a Woodall fly ball. Jim Awaisian padded the lead, 4-0, with a two-run home run in the third inning.