In a battle for first place in the Rio Hondo League, the San Marino and South Pasadena baseball teams faced off for one final matchup of the season on April 18.
The visiting Titans led throughout the game, but the host Tigers clawed back to cut their deficit to two runs at the bottom of the seventh inning.
Late in the inning, South Pasadena set up the winning run at the plate with senior Nolan Adams at bat and runners on second and third.
Adams battled San Marino relief pitcher Brandon Strauss to a full count, but on the sixth pitch, the senior fouled out, the ball soaring upward and past the host’s dugout.
Titans first baseman JJ Wilson tracked the ball around the corner of the dugout and came out with ball in glove, signifying the final out of the game to secure San Marino’s 5-3 victory over South Pasadena, but not without controversy.
“That was kind of crazy,” said JJ Wilson of the play. “I just saw a foul ball go up, and I was just like, ‘Alright, I’m just going to try to make a play,’ and I did.
“It was a great game. Luckily, we put some more runs at the end. We knew Brandon was going to go out to pitch and do his thing.”
South Pasadena coach Jaime Garcia and the rest of the Tigers coaching staff contested the play, arguing the ball hit the top of the netting above the batter’s box and should be ruled out of play, which would negate Wilson’s catch.
The protest was not successful as the umpires called the fair ball to end the game.
“We play all 21 outs, so we’re going to fight all the way through the end,” Garcia said. “That’s just our mentality — just fight until the last out’s made and we’ll live with the results. But, obviously, not like that.”
The win avenges the Titans’ previous loss to the Tigers on April 15 and forces South Pasadena to share top spot in the Rio Hondo League with San Marino with the regular season coming to a close.
“The Rio Hondo League is kind of up to us if we can go and capitalize on it,” said San Marino coach John Franklin of the league title.
Last season, South Pasadena and San Marino settled for a share of the league crown, and with the Titans’ latest victory over the Tigers, the two share a 7-3 league record going into the final week of play.
“We have no choice. We have to move forward,” said Garcia of the league outlook.
Franklin commended Garcia and the Tigers (16-10 overall) for keeping the Titans (18-7) off balance trying to implement their small-ball approach.
“Guys who I still called on stayed committed to it and it worked out for us,” Franklin said.
San Marino junior Tomás Bilvado got the start for the Titans and held the Tigers scoreless through much of the contest. The junior pitched 5 ⅓ innings before Strauss came in to close the game.
“Winning today is a huge energy boost and a boost of morale for us for the rest of league,” Bilvado said.
His Tigers counterpart was junior Ben Regan, who also tossed 5 ⅓ innings before giving way to junior Gabe Vogel for the close.
Tigers senior Devin Robinson found a gap between first and second for a single and the team’s first hit of the game at the bottom of the first inning, but the South Pasadena offense would not get another hit thereafter until the fifth inning.
Bilvado struck out Adams to end the threat and embarked on three hitless innings, walking just one batter in the span. The Titans defense also forced 12 groundouts out of the 19 batters Bilvado faced in that period.
“That’s my favorite thing,” said Bilvado of the infield defensive plays. “I know that even if I throw a pitch right down the middle and I get a hit, my defense can make a play on it.”
The Titans capitalized on their defensive efforts at the plate in the meantime.
At the top of the third, the Titans loaded the bases after senior Sid Danenhauer lined a single down the gap between shortstop and second, senior Coleman Morning was hit by pitch and JJ Wilson walked.
With two outs, Titans freshman Chase Mena saw his hit slip through Adams’ glove at first base to plate Danenhauer for the game’s first run.
San Marino loaded the bases again at the top of the fourth after Bilvado and Morning walked and Parker Wilson singled. Bilvado scored after JJ Wilson was hit by a pitch to double the San Marino lead after four innings played.
With a runner on first at the top of the sixth, Morning belted a one-out RBI double toward right field to bring home Danenhauer and make it a 3-0 San Marino lead.
But at the bottom of the frame, South Pasadena started to pick things up.
Bilvado walked Robinson and Adams after Tigers sophomore Aaron Kawasaki hit a one-out single to load the bases.
Strauss came in for relief, but a passed ball scored Kawasaki to give the Tigers their first run of the game.
“It was just making him work, getting him to throw more pitches,” said Garcia of the team’s efforts to knock off Bilvado. “There were a couple of innings where we kind of bailed him out swinging first pitches at-bats and getting one-pitch-one-outs for him and stuff like that, but when we made him work, we made him work.”
Another walk loaded the bases for South Pasadena, which Tigers senior Griffin Johnson took advantage of with a groundout to first to score Robinson and cut the Titans lead to 3-2.
Titans small-ball play helped set up runners on second and third at the top of the seventh where the visitors benefitted from a pair of miscues to cushion their lead.
A pitch tipped off the glove of Tigers catcher Jesse Chavez and rolled away from the senior. Titans senior Carson Herren took advantage of the moment and squeezed home, giving San Marino a 4-2 lead. Parker Wilson restored the San Marino three-run lead soon after when a South Pasadena pickoff attempt went awry, allowing the freshman to trot home for the 5-2 lead.
The Tigers weren’t done just yet. Chavez singled to left field but was later thrown out on a fielder’s choice. With a runner on first, Strauss walked two of the next three batters to load the bases.
Adams came up to the plate as the winning run and battled Strauss to a full count but came up empty-handed.
