Falcons Draw Blank in Final

It wasn’t as if Brandon Higelin pitched poorly for Crescenta Valley High. He was simply outpitched by Brandon Villalobos of Glendora.

Villalobos pitched a five-hitter in the Tartans’ 4-0 victory Thursday night in the championship game of the Babe Herman tournament at Stengel Field in Glendale.

Villalobos (2-0), who had eight strikeouts and didn’t walk a batter, usually is a reliever.

He pitched two shutouts to earn most valuable player honors in the tournament.

“He mixed his pitches well,” Coach Phil Torres of Crescenta Valley said. “He kept the ball down and got a lot of outs. They played great defense behind him.”

It added up to a frustrating evening for the Falcons (12-4).

“We had our chances,” Higelin said. “We just didn’t execute this game. Sometimes that happens.”

The only earned runs Higelin (6-2) gave up were in the second inning, when the Tartans (15-2) scored on a two-run double by Shane Thompson with two out.

Glendora added two unearned runs in the sixth.

The Falcons had runners on first and second with one out in the third on singles by Bret Nichols and Aaron McGuinness.

But Jimmy Goffredo struck out and second baseman Ronnie McClard of Glendora made an over-the-shoulder catch of a pop fly by Matt Miller.