Sylmar Lets Montes Off the Hook in 9-2 Setback

The final play told the whole story of the Valley Mission League baseball game Tuesday between Sylmar and San Fernando.

With the bases loaded, Mike Garcia hit a sharp grounder down the third-base line. But third baseman Jesus Martinez scarcely had to move before scooping up the ball and stepping on third base for a forceout that completed a 9-2 victory for San Fernando at Sylmar High.

It was an afternoon of escapes for pitcher Jose Montes of San Fernando and one of frustration for the Spartans, who dropped into third place, two games behind the first-place Tigers.

Sylmar (8-6 overall, 4-3 in Valley Mission League play) left runners on base in every inning except the first, stranded 12 in all and left the bases loaded three times. When the Spartans did put the ball in play, it was usually right at a San Fernando fielder.

“That’s been our downfall in all the games we’ve lost this year,” Sylmar Coach Gary Donatella said. “We can’t get guys in. But also, our pitchers are walking way too many guys. We can’t afford to put pressure on ourselves.”

While San Fernando (8-6, 6-1) made Ivan Lopez (3-3) pay for his mistakes, Montes (2-3) worked in and out of jams throughout his fourth complete game of the season.

“The key is that I know how to relax,” Montes said. “I got in trouble at times because I was trying to aim my pitches instead of just throwing. I knew if I could just throw strikes my defense would help me out and that’s what happened.”

Montes was nearly lifted in the fifth, but ended a Spartan rally by snaring a sharp grounder off the bat of Hector Chavez to start a 1-4-3 double play that ended the inning. He finished with five strikeouts and made six assists on ground balls.

“I’m not surprised that we scored some runs,” said Coach Armando Gomez of San Fernando. “Actually, we’re capable of hitting a lot better. And I don’t know if any team has a better pitching staff than us. We have eight guys that we can put out there to get the job the done.”

San Fernando plated two runs in the first, two in the third and two in the fifth to build a 6-0 lead.

Victor Martinez had a triple, double and three runs batted in, and Juan Gonzalez added two hits, two RBIs and scored twice. Jordan Plasencia, who transferred from Sylmar to San Fernando in the fall, hit a two-run single.

“This was a big game because we’re up two games on them,” Montes said. ‘But we’ve got to play them again Thursday, so we’ll have to be ready.”

Lopez had nine strikeouts, upping his season total to 49, but walked six and hit two batters in five innings.