San Marino High and Temple City split the first two baseball games of this season’s series, with both going into extra innings.
Over the course of the two matchups, the team played a combined 21 innings and saw each team tally six runs.
Game three, the rubber match, would not provide the same dramatics.
Playing as the hosts, San Marino shut out Temple City 8-0 in Rio Hondo League play to win the season series April 4.
Titans junior Tomás Bilvado was on the mound and was perfect through 4 1/3 innings pitched. The junior ace earned the complete game shutout win, allowing just two hits. Bilvado also drove in two runs to help his own cause.
“Really big win for the guys to win a series,” Bilvado said. “I think we just came out strong swinging the bats from the get-go.”
San Marino’s Coleman Morning drove in three runs, with one in the third, fourth and sixth innings.
“It was a great team game. Tomás pitched a gem on the mound and our offense rallied behind him,” Morning said.
Morning also played strong defense at shortstop, including fielding a ground ball and throwing to second from one knee to start a double play that erased a lead-off single by the Rams in the seventh inning.
“I’m not as used to it as third base, but to me, it is like a second home,” Morning said.
After being shut out at home for nine innings in the first game hosting Temple City (7-10-1 overall, 3-5 in league), the Titans ensured early that would not be the case this time with a run in the bottom of the first.
San Marino freshman Chase Mena swatted a one-out hit that banged off the wall in right field for a double. Temple City’s starting pitcher Brenden Ortiz got the next batter out, but JJ Wilson drove in Mena, who had advanced to third on a wild pitch, with a single to center field for the game’s first run.
“It started with us playing Titan baseball at the beginning of the game,” San Marino coach John Franklin said.
San Marino (16-5, 6-2) hit six singles in the third inning, producing three runs. The first three Titans hit singles to load the bases, starting with a sharp single to left field by San Marino senior Carson Herren followed by back-to-back bunt singles on consecutive pitches by Titans senior Sid Danenhauer and Mena respectively.
“When we get bunts down, good things happen for us because we’ve got the speed,” Franklin said.
Morning followed, grounding into a fielder’s choice that erased the runner going to second, but drove in Herren. After that, the next trio of Titans also hit singles, but not before Danenhauer scored from third when a throw to second to catch Morning attempting to steal sailed high, bringing home the run.
Wilson finished his at-bat with a single to put runners at the corners. Bilvado then hit an RBI single to left field to make it 4-0 and chase Ortiz. In came Alex Lin for the Rams, whose second pitch Liam Van Fossan hit into left field to drive home Morning. Lin got the next two Titans out to end the threat.
“They have proven they are the team to beat in league,” said Temple City coach Rob Nelson of the Titans.
San Marino would then put up another three runs in the bottom of the fourth, starting with one out, Morning at the plate and runners on the corners in the frame. After Mena stole second, the Ram catcher tried to throw behind Danenhauer, who had legged out an infield single to reach base, as he hustled back to third base. The throw hit the senior, allowing him to score as the ball got away. Morning then hit a single to center to drive in Mena. Now with two out, Bilvado drove in the final run of the frame, plating Morning with a single back up the middle.
The Titans tacked on an insurance run in the sixth when Morning drove in pinch runner Preston Montano with a groundout.
“A lot of the scenarios that I was in,” Morning said. “I was just trying to get a ball in play to get someone in. It just ended up working in my favor today.”
LA SALLE 4, SAN MARINO 1
Morning plated Mena for the Titans’ lone run of a road game against La Salle in a nonleague matchup on April 6.
Morning finished 1-for-2 with an RBI, and Mena went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Titans senior Ryan Park doubled and freshman Parker Wilson singled in the nonleague loss.
The Rio Hondo League-leading Titans return to action in a nonleague game against Ontario Christian on the road on April 11 before hosting Glendora on April 13.
San Marino’s next league game will be after spring break, when the Titans host South Pasadena April 15 hoping to further cushion their league lead.
“Getting that win going into spring break is big because now we’ve got a week of some baseball to play against some good teams outside of league,” Franklin said.
First published in the April 11 issue of the San Marino Tribune
