Parque Wins Big for Crescenta Valley, 10-2

At 5 feet 9 and 145 pounds, Jim Parque isn’t exactly a dominating figure on the mound. In fact, Crescenta Valley’s left-handed ace has heard plenty of talk about his size over the years.

“Last season I had to work through that to prove something to myself,” Parque said. “Now I just pitch.”

He prefers to let his statistics do the talking. Parque, a senior with a hard fastball that belies his size, pitched his second complete game of the season Tuesday in Crescenta Valley’s 10-2 Mission Conference victory at Hoover.

Parque (4-0) struck out 14, gave up six hits and walked four. He yielded two runs and three hits in the fifth inning.

“I think I was just kind of riding along in a groove with that lead we had,” he said. “Then (in the fifth) I kind of started experimenting with my pitches.”

Crescenta Valley (6-1, 3-1) entered the inning with a 6-0 lead. The Falcons scored four runs in the first, one in the third and one in the fifth.

Hoover (4-4, 2-2) didn’t come close to scoring after the fifth. Catcher Ed Perez drove home the team’s first run with a ground single to center and shortstop Ron Pirayoff drove in the second with a single to left.

Pirayoff went two for two and walked twice.

The Falcons sealed the victory with two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh.

Center fielder Marty Lane went three for three with a run batted in and shortstop Kirk Hagge went three for five with three RBIs. Left fielder Jesse Mitchell was three for four with an RBI and catcher John French had two RBIs.

“I know my team is going to get runs for me and that’s part of why I feel so confident,” said Parque, who will play at UCLA next season. “It’s a great feeling.”

Senior Jose Nuno (0-2) took the loss for the Tornadoes. He gave up 13 hits and eight runs in 5 1/3 innings. He walked five and struck out one.

Pirayoff relieved Nuno and gave up one hit and two runs in less than an inning. Junior Steve Staub pitched the seventh and gave up one hit.