Freeway League Baseball : Montgomery Wins This Matchup : Homer Off Fullerton’s Arias Helps Sunny Hills to Victory

There are sibling rivalries, and then there’s the special relationship between Fullerton High School pitcher Rene Arias and Sunny Hills outfielder Jon Montgomery.

Arias, a native of Mexico, moved into Montgomery’s home 2 1/2 years ago after Arias’ mother moved back to Mexico. He has remained at Fullerton and has developed into one of the school’s premier athletes.

He pitched a no-hitter in the Southern Section 3-A division playoffs as a sophomore. He was the starting varsity quarterback last fall and was among the county’s top three-point shooters in basketball.

Montgomery has been selected to play in this summer’s Orange County All-Star football game as a defensive back, but for the most part, his athletic exploits have been overshadowed by Arias’. That is, until Wednesday afternoon.

Montgomery hit a three-run homer off Arias that keyed a five-run outburst in the sixth inning in Sunny Hills’ 10-8 victory at Fullerton.

The loss dropped Fullerton (7-6-1, 4-2) out of a first-place tie with Sunny Hills (10-6, 5-1) in the Freeway League.

Montgomery hit an 0-2 curveball high over the right-field fence to give Sunny Hills a 10-5 lead and chase Arias (5-2). Afterward, Montgomery was asked if the play would be discussed at the dinner table.

“All I’m going to say to Rene was that it (homer) was a lucky shot,” Montgomery said. “I’ll feel more uncomfortable talking about it than he will. I was looking for a curveball and got lucky.

“I would have rather hit it off somebody else than Rene. Whenever I hit against him, I try to block it out of my mind, but I’m always aware that it’s him on the mound.”

Arias said the pitch was a fastball, but there was no argument that Montgomery’s homer took Fullerton out of the game in a ballpark where the center-field fence is only 175 feet away from home plate.

“It was a bad pitch that took us out of the game,” Arias said. “I won’t see Jon until tomorrow, but I’ll congratulate him and tell him, ‘Nice game.’ I made some bad pitches today, but we get another shot at them Friday.”

George Montgomery, who invited Arias into his home, was caught in the middle of the confrontation between his son and Arias.

“I had mixed emotions,” he said. “My family has grown very close to Rene, and he’s almost become a son to me. I was happy for Jon, but I was hurting for Rene.”

La Habra 4, Sonora 3--Rob Szente had an RBI double with no outs in the sixth to give the Highlanders (7-5, 3-3) a 4-3 lead at La Habra. David Stevens (2-3) pitched a six-hitter, striking out seven, for the victory.

Troy 12, Buena Park 5--Matt Carter had a grand slam in a five-run first inning for the Warriors (10-4, 5-1) at Troy. Carter had three hits and three runs scored.