Avalos Straightens 2 Curves Over Fence in Mission’s Win

Richard Avalos was not looking for any pitch in particular but he knew what to do with two of the curves he saw.

Avalos, a sophomore right fielder, hit two three-run home runs to lead Mission College to a 10-6 victory over Valley in a nonconference baseball game Wednesday at the El Cariso Sports Complex.

The blasts gave Mission submarine-throwing right-hander Josh Brown (2-0) ample room to work, and the sophomore responded by scattering 11 hits and going the distance. He struck out three and walked one.

It was the six consecutive victory for Mission (6-1), which opened Friday with an 8-1 loss against Citrus in the Taft tournament. Valley dropped to 1-3.

“Richard has been hitting real well for us,” Mission Coach John Klitsner said. “He hit a home run in the tournament (against Taft) when we needed it, and he hit a couple today when we needed them.”

Mission took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Ernie Bueno scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Gallegos with one out.

In the third, first baseman Marlon McKinney and third baseman Gallegos hit consecutive singles with two out and Avalos then increased the lead to 4-0 with a long shot over the left-field fence on a 2-and-1 pitch from Valley starter Matt Plugge (0-1).

Valley, however, responded with three runs in the top of the fourth.

Brown, who had retired eight consecutive batters after Arnold Settles opened the game with a single, got into a jam but was able to work out of it in time for Mission to cling to a 4-3 lead.

Settles led off the inning with a single, but was picked off first by catcher Joey Gandara. Brown dropped a pop up by Vic Seper for an error and Ozzie Areu reached on an error by Gallegos.

After David Stevenson flied out to right, designated hitter Brian Gordon doubled in both runners. Jamie Zeichick walked and Mark David knocked in Stevenson from second with a single to left.

The Free Spirit came back with a single run in the fourth and two in the fifth. That set the stage for Avalos in the sixth.

McKinney and Gallegos led off with singles off left-hander Ryan Messervier. Then on a 1-and-2 count, Avalos crushed a high curve almost to the identical spot his first homer landed.

“They were both curveballs,” said Avalos, who also had a double and walked twice. “I just scooted up on the (batter’s) box and I just laid back and waited for it.”

The Monarchs closed to 10-4 with a run in the seventh and scored their final runs on a two-run homer deep to left field by Settles. The sophomore center fielder had three hits in five at-bats. Gordon also had three hits for Valley.

Valley didn’t help its cause with a weak performance by four pitchers, who walked seven and struck out one. They repeatedly fell behind on the count and struggled with their control even against batters they eventually retired.

“We are kind of going through tryouts with the pitching staff before conference starts,” Valley Coach Chris Johnson said. “We just pitched terribly.”

Brown, on the other hand, pitched well despite the troublesome fourth inning and the homer by Settles. He was particularly effective with his submarine delivery in the early innings and managed to go the route by being economical with his pitches. Brown went to full counts on only three batters.

“We went nine innings with him because he had only thrown about 75 pitches going into the ninth,” Klitsner said. “His ball sinks and runs a little bit, and if he keeps it down, he’s hard to hit.”