Area trio picks up dozen awards
While the recently released Rio Hondo League baseball first and second teams were favorable to league champion Temple City High and runner-up Monrovia, the area trio of La Cañada, San Marino and South Pasadena still earned 12 combined spots.
San Marino, which rebounded from a 5-18 campaign in 2011 by finishing third in league with a 17-9 record overall this season, earned five accolades, including two first-team selections in seniors Garrett Glazier and Alex Eaves.
“Those are two deserving guys,” Titans Coach Mack Paciorek said. “Starting with Garrett, across the board he was huge and a big character guy. He was our MVP, the type of blood-and-guts guy you want on the mound.”
Glazier was 6-5 overall in 12 appearances with a 2.18 earned-run average and 40 strikeouts versus 15 walks tallied over 54 2/3 inning pitched.
At the dish, Glazier was the Titans’ leading hitter, batting .371 with a team-leading 23 hits and 12 RBIs.
As for Eaves, the outfielder led the team with 14 stolen bases, batted .299 and tied for the team lead in runs scored (19), while driving in 12 RBIs.
“Alex is a tremendous athlete and covered a lot of ground,” Paciorek said. “His athleticism gave up a lot of options.”
The Titans trio of senior pitcher Jeff Bain (6-3, 1.17 ERA with 48 strikeouts and batted .362 with 12 RBIs), junior infielder Bradley Haslam (.286 batting average) and junior outfielder Nick Gott (.310 batting average and 1.000 field percentage) were all named to the second team.
The Tigers, who finished 8-17 overall last year and tied for fourth in league with La Cañada (10-14), earned one first-team nod in Glendale City College-bound infielder Dylan Trimarchi.
“Dylan is just an amazing hitter for the high school level,” Tigers Coach Anthony Chevrier said. “He led the league in hits [33], extra-base hits [13], batting average [.465] and did everything that was expected of him.”
Trimarchi’s .529 on-base percentage and 17 stolen bases were also tops of any league player.
South Pasadena senior pitcher Keaton Leach (3-6 record, 3.05 ERA with 55 strikeouts and a .267 batting average), senior outfielder Justin Cornford (.279 batting average) and sophomore infielder Joey Harmon (3.14 batting average with 16 RBIs, seven doubles and a 2-4 record with 23 strikeouts) were placed on the second team.
La Cañada notched three second-team selections in senior pitcher Mitch Russell (0.32 ERA with 45 strikeouts), junior infielder Anthony Mizrahi (.358 batting average with 24 hits, 18 RBIs, two homers and a 1.85 ERA) and senior outfielder Derek Georgino (.288 average and 19 runs scored).
Of note, Russell’s 0.32 ERA was the best of anyone in league, while Mizrahi’s two homers tied for second, his .582 slugging percentage was third and his 18 RBIs tied for third.
“We just couldn’t hit for Russell, otherwise he’d have several wins,” retiring La Cañada Coach Dennis Ballard said. “As for the season, there were some definite highs — like beating Pasadena Poly and having Mizrahi no-hit Hoover — and we worked hard.”
As for the league’s top honors, Temple City’s Corey Copping and Monrovia’s Joe Mata were named co-Rio Hondo League Most Valuable Player while Rams senior Calvin Copping was tabbed as the league’s pitcher of the year.