Glendale Blasts Hoover With Onsaga Leading the Charge

With only 12 players on its roster, don’t expect the Glendale High baseball team to use a designated hitter.

Especially with the way Phil Onsaga swings a bat.

Onsaga, a senior left-hander, pitched six innings in a 14-3 Pacific League victory Tuesday at Hoover. Batting cleanup, Onsaga paced a 20-hit attack by going three for four, including a two-run home run and a double.

“He’s dual guy,” Glendale Coach Spiro Psaltis said. “Phil can do both, and he does both with a vengeance.”

Glendale (7-1, 5-1 in league play) trailed, 2-0, after three innings, but Onsaga pulled the Dynamiters even in the fourth with a towering two-run home run to right field.

From there, the Dynamiters made it a hit parade. Glendale added three runs in the fifth and six in the sixth to pull away.

The victory moved Glendale a half-game ahead of Arcadia heading into Friday’s showdown with the Apaches. Hoover fell to 5-6, 2-3.

“I was glad I was able to get us started and get us back in the game,” Onsaga said. “All the time I’ve been here we’ve had the pitchers, but we know we can do it with hitters. This year, we’ve got both.”

Pitching is a strength for Glendale, which entered the game with a staff earned-run average of 1.40. Onsaga (4-0) entered the game with a 2.10 ERA and allowed a pair of unearned runs in the first inning and a solo home run to Juan Romero in the fourth. He allowed only four hits.

“As long as I’m coach, we’re going to be a pitching team,” Psaltis said. “We don’t want to slug with anybody.”

The cozy confines at Hoover made for a change in philosophy, if only for one game. Four batters after Onsaga’s blast, catcher Ryan Noll launched a two-run home run just inside the right-field foul pole, 302 feet from home plate.

The Dynamiters collected six extra-base hits, including triples by Jesus Osuna and Bryan Chan, and doubles by Tony Cisneros and Onsaga.

Onsaga started slow on the mound, struggling in the first before retiring the side in order in the second and third.

“I usually start slow and finish strong,” Onsaga said. “I don’t know why.”

Glendale chased right-hander David Romero (2-3) in the fifth after Onsaga led off with a double.

“They hit seeds all over the place,” Hoover Coach Jim Delzell said. “I haven’t seen a team hit the ball the other way that hard.”