Martin, Crusaders flex their muscles

Charles Rich

TUJUNGA -- He briefly reverted back to an old habit Thursday, then

broke it with the flick of his bulky wrists.

Village Christian High baseball player Ian Martin has subliminally

found a comfort zone with his swing, something the junior didn’t have

when he meekly struck out in the first inning of Thursday’s 12-2

nonleague victory against La Salle at Tujunga Field.

Then Martin shortened his swing and produced two run-scoring singles

and a sacrifice fly to lead the Crusaders (5-1) in a game called in the

bottom of the fifth inning due to the 10-run mercy rule.

Martin lunged at several pitches during his first at-bat, then

remembered what he learned at a recent six-week hitting and fielding

clinic in Sherman Oaks.

“My shoulder flew open when I struck out and I remembered that I had

to shorten my swing by keeping my hands close to my body,” said Martin, a

three-year varsity player. “My swing has showed up the last couple of

games, and I’ve been riding a wave of success.”

His recent offensive surge would substantiate Martin’s improvement.

Martin finished with five hits in six at-bats to help the Crusaders

sweep Fillmore in a nonleague doubleheader Saturday. He had two hits and

drove in a game-high four runs Thursday against La Salle (3-2).

“He used to lunge at pitches,” Village Christian Coach Brian Gibson

said. “Now he’s waiting patiently for the pitch to get to him. He took a

lot of nuggets of advice from a variety of sources at the clinic. He now

thinks analytically when he’s at the plate, and things have become more

routine for him.”

The Crusaders, winners of four consecutive games, received two hits

each from David Quintana, Matt Delgado and Brian Drown.

La Salle 0*0*0*0*2 - 2*3*1

VC 0*4*6*0*2 - 12*11*2

La Salle IP*R*ER*H*BB*K

Rakiewicz 2.1*10*10*8*4*3

Forillo 2.1*2*2*3*1*2

Total 4.2*12*12*11*5*5

VC IP*R*ER*H*BB*K

Bowman 5*2*2*3*4*7

WP - Bowman (3-0)

LP - Rakiewicz (0-1)

2B - L: Henry. VC: Delgado, Orsatt, Quintana.

3B - VC: Fritts.

SB - L: Stevenson 2, Alexander.