Dorado’s Fielding Helps Zamudio Pitch One-Hitter for Monroe, 4-1

If turnabout is fair play, call the Monroe and Sylmar high baseball teams even.

One day after Monroe booted three ground balls in a loss to Sylmar, it was the Spartans who were bit by the same bug Wednesday.

Sylmar committed four errors and Monroe’s Joel Zamudio threw a one-hitter to beat the visiting Spartans, 4-1, in a Valley Pac-8 Conference game.

A day earlier, Monroe’s errors helped Sylmar to a 13-6 victory. Both teams are 7-3, 4-1 in conference play.

Monroe second baseman Jaime Dorado preserved Zamudio’s no-hit bid twice with spectacular defensive plays in the fifth and six innings, and Zamudio can blame only his own reflex for losing his no-hitter.

Zamudio (4-0), who struck out seven and walked four, was making a no-hit bid until Sylmar’s Oscar Mendoza hit a chopper past the pitcher with two out in the sixth.

The junior right-hander spun around and stabbed at the comebacker, but the ball went through the infield untouched and Zamudio ended up on his backside.

“I was a little off balance. I saw it come by,” Zamudio said. “Things just happen, you know?”

Mendoza’s chopper however, wasn’t the only potential hit. Dorado, in his first start at second base, made two exceptional plays.

Sylmar’s Art Diaz hit a ground ball to the right side to lead off the fifth, but Dorado dived to his left, made the grab, sprang to his feet and threw out Diaz. One inning later, Sylmar’s Andy Camarillo hit a slow roller, forcing Dorado to charge and make the play on the run.

Monroe struck early, scoring two runs in the first inning on a pair of throwing errors with two out.

Sylmar scored its only run in the third inning when left fielder Eddie Rojo dropped a slicing line drive by Anthony Martinez trying to make a basket catch.

Monroe added a run on John Shellabarger’s run-scoring double in the third, and another in the sixth on a run-scoring triple by Darrell Folck.