No brainer as Beer voted league pitcher of year
Titles and success within the Pacific League is nothing new for the Crescenta Valley High baseball team.
However, before the season began and as it wore on, the prevailing view was that archrival Arcadia would be the league titlist at season’s end as the Apaches were an undefeated team with wins over upper-echelon programs and had drawn national rankings.
When the dust settled, though, it was the Falcons who were celebrating their third consecutive Pacific League crown and perhaps no player had a more pivotal role than senior pitcher Trevor Beer.
With Beer on the mound in front of a raucous Arcadia home crowd, it was the left-hander who delivered a Falcons’ victory and dealt the Apaches their first loss.
Thus, with the season’s conclusion, Beer was voted the Pacific League Pitcher of the Year. It was the second consecutive season Beer brought home the award.
“I’ve always viewed it as an honor,” Beer said. “It’s certainly going to be amazing to be able to look back on when I’m not pitching, when I’m not in the moment.
“It’s an honor, honestly, is the only way I can put it.”
Arcadia’s Dominick Tello was the Pacific League Player of the Year, while Muir’s Adonis Harrison was voted coach of the year after leading the Mustangs, once a perennial last-place squad, to third place.
Crescenta Valley posted a perfect 14-0 Pacific League record and finished 25-5 overall after a run to the CIF Southern Section Division II quarterfinals.
“It was a lot of fun. This was a good group,” Falcons coach Phil Torres said. “We kept telling them all year, stick to the plan and keep getting better every day.
“I think the kids were excited for the challenge [of knocking off Arcadia].”
Beer was joined on the all-league squad by six of his Falcons teammates with Brian Erickson, Will Grimm and Brian Ghattas garnering first-team nods. Glendale’s Daven Eidem was likewise a first-team selection after a terrific season.
Through Pacific League play, Beer was Mr. Tuesday, going a perfect 7-0 as the front-end starter every week in the league’s home-and-home series. Overall, he was 11-2 with a sterling 0.80 earned-run average across 78 2/3 innings with 137 strikeouts to only 19 walks. When he wasn’t on the hill, Beer played first base and was the team’s No. 3 hitter throughout, producing a .381 batting average (37 for 97) with 13 extra-base hits, 18 runs batted in and 18 runs.
“He did a great job,” Torres said. “He had a perfect game, a couple of no-hitters. He pitched really, really well in league.
“He had a great senior year.”
The most productive presence in the Falcons’ lineup proved to be Erickson, a senior center fielder with a great arm who batted clean-up.
“He hit .400 basically the whole year and to basically play gold glove defense in center field and he was throwing guys out at home plate … he really exceeded our expectations,” Torres said. “He was open and coachable and the results showed.”
For the season, Erickson hit .402 (35 for 87) with 29 RBI and 24 runs along with 12 doubles, 15 walks and a .514 on-base percentage. On top of all that, Erickson was a team leader, joining Beer to propel the Falcons.
“He was the catalyst for us,” Beer said. “He was the guy in the group chat before the game firing us up. It’s an entirely different team without him.”
Grimm, a sophomore pitcher and lead-off man, truly had a star-making season, making a mark in the lineup and on the mound, when he memorably shut out Arcadia, 2-0, to clinch an outright league title in the final regular season game.
“You got to see a whole different kid this year,” Torres said. “He’s a guy that can be the next guy offensively and on the mound.”
Grimm was 9-1 on the year with a 1.75 ERA across 64 innings with 58 strikeouts to just 23 walks. He also hit .372 (35 of 94) with seven doubles, 17 RBI, 27 runs, 18 walks and an excellent .500 on-base percentage.
One aspect of CV success has often been behind the plate, as Falcons catchers have been relied upon to lead the pitching staff and play dependable defense.
Ghattas did just that.
“He really improved,” Torres said. “Our guys aren’t easy to catch. Brian really, really improved behind the plate. And he made the play of the year catching that ball and tagging out that guy at Arcadia.
“And he hit for us, too.”
Ghattas tallied a .338 average (26 for 77) with 16 RBI, 20 runs, 14 walks and a .474 on-base percentage.
The Nitros posted a 5-19-1 record, ending their league campaign at 2-12 on the strength of a pair of wins over rival Hoover to end the year. Those struggles likely overshadowed an overall excellent year for Eidem, a senior infielder.
With a .349 average (22 for 63), Eidem, who’s headed to Wisconsin Lutheran College, hit more than 100 points higher than any other teammate and added a team-high 16 runs to go with nine RBI, four doubles and 23 stolen bases. He also drew 14 walks and posted a .494 on-base percentage.
“Daven Eidem was the offensive catalyst for Glendale as he hit leadoff all year long,” Nitros coach Kevin Chan said. “Having him receive first-team honors in a tough Pacific League was such a great accomplishment for him. He put in a ton of extra work this year to prepare for the season and it paid off as the other Pacific League coaches took notice enough to vote him into first team. He was laser focused on doing what it took to help the team compete. He always seemed to find a way to get on base.
“By our accounts, he’s also the new single season stolen base leader for GHS. … He was everything we could have asked for from the leadoff spot and he will be missed next year.”
Crescenta Valley added a pair of second-teamers in sophomore infielder Vincent Parrott and sophomore outfielder Isaac Sung.
Parrott put up outstanding numbers, most notably a team-leading 32 runs. The No. 2 batter tallied a .351 (34 for 97) average with 17 RBI, 18 walks and a .448 on-base percentage.
Jung proved to be a plus-defender and batted .284 (23 for 81) with 10 RBI and 12 runs
Locals who received honorable mention were Crescenta Valley senior pitcher Luke Hempel (3.02 ERA, 4-2, one save), Glendale sophomore utility Ethan Aldrete (.245 average, .369 on-base percentage, nine stolen bases) and freshman infielder/pitcher Luis Fernandez (.301 batting average, 22 hits, 10 walks, five RBI) of Hoover, which struggled to a 1-24 season in which it went winless in league.
Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon
