Huntington Park Can’t Quite Slay the Final Giant

After a 2-1 loss to Franklin in the City Section 3-A Division Finals on Monday, the Huntington Park players were understandably upset.

The sight of drooped heads and the sound of heavy sobbing surrounded the Spartans’ dugout.

But pitcher Mario Arambula, who had the most reason to feel downtrodden, was in surprisingly high spirits.

Arambula not only suffered the loss in the championship game, but by the identical score that he lost to Franklin last year in the first round of the playoffs.

“It feels like I am having a flashback,” said the senior left-hander.

“But it’s a great feeling just being here.”

At the time, it didn’t appear as if Arambula’s sentiments were shared by his teammates, but Coach Mark Chacon knew his squad had reason to be proud.

“Lincoln had more talent than most of the teams we’ve faced, but (in the playoffs) it’s not who’s the better team, it’s who’s the hottest or most consistent team,” Chacon said.

“This team saw themselves as giant-killers.”

Huntington Park (15-11) finished the regular season tied with Bell and Garfield for fourth place in the Southeastern Conference.

The Spartans would have to defeat a No. 5 seed (Crenshaw), No. 4 seed (Roosevelt) and a No. 1 seed (Lincoln) to reach the finals.

Huntington Park used the one-game-at-a-time approach and, 10 days later, the team was playing at Dodger Stadium.

Huntington Park may have played the role of a modern-day David in the postseason, but Arambula performed more like a Goliath during the regular season.

Arambula was 6-4 on the year, with a 1.67 earned-run average.

His efforts on the mound earned him all-Southeastern Conference first team honors for the second consecutive season.

Arambula’s importance to the team, however, was more than just an overpowering fastball or sharp curveball.

“My role was to be team leader and to take this team to a championship,” said the four-year varsity starter, “The main key is teamwork, and I kept everyone playing as a team.”

Chacon attributes Huntington Park’s success to Arambula’s year-to-year improvement: “Mario has come a long way. He is a big reason why we are here. (Once he) gained control of his breaking ball, he started to mature as a pitcher.”

It has been 10 years since Huntington Park last appeared in the final--the Spartans lost, 1-0, to Lincoln in 1984.

Since then, Huntington Park has been a fairly competitive team, making periodic playoff appearances.

It seemed this year would be no different as Huntington Park finished the season only two games above .500 and barely made the playoffs as the No. 12 seed.

Huntington Park may not have had the skill to dominate during the season, but they had one of the key ingredients necessary to winning in the playoffs.

“This was not the most talented team I have coached, but the strength of this team was its heart.”