Montclair Prep Not Ready to Turn Over League Lead

The Montclair Prep baseball team sent an early message to Village Christian High, its Alpha League rival and the team that was supposed to replace the Mounties at the top of the league heap.

Mounties’ shortstop Keyaan Cook barreled into Village Christian catcher Greg Lloyd to end the top of the first inning Friday night, leaving Lloyd obviously shaken and causing Cook to be ejected from the game.

But Cook’s hit--combined with 10 of the more traditional kind, a pair of five-run innings and a 13-3 victory at Bluebird Field in Sun Valley--definitely served notice that Montclair Prep was not about to step aside quietly.

“We wanted to take a message to them that we’re still the team to beat in this league,” Montclair Prep Coach Walt Steele said.

Message received.

Montclair Prep (10-5-1 overall, 5-0 in league play) scored five runs in the third inning to break a 1-1 tie. J. T. Billingslea hit a home run just inside the foul pole in left field to break the tie, and Andy Shaw and Brent Polacheck each added two-run singles in the inning.

The Mounties scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings before rallying for five more runs off reliever Drew Martenson in the sixth. Russell Ortiz and Polacheck each had two-run singles in that inning.

“We’ve seen everyone else and this is the team we wanted to take it to,” Montclair Prep pitcher Chris Andersen said.

Andersen (7-0) kept Village Christian (13-5, 4-1) off balance all night. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior allowed one hit--a solo home run by Matt Smay--while striking out 11 in six innings.

He tired in the seventh, however, allowing a pair of runs on two walks and two singles.