The Varsity Baseball team began Rio Hondo League play with a record of 2-2 and an overall record of 4-5. The Rams currently are in third place and hope to move up and get first in order to secure a good bracket for C.I.F.
The boys are motivated and itching for the chance redeem themselves after suffering a heartbreaking tie in the last game of the season that put them in fourth, as their C.I.F. hopes disappeared.
“We needed to score just one more run and we would qualify for C.I.F. last year,” Senior Angel Lopez said. “Then there was lightning and the game was eventually stopped, ending the game with a tie, even though we had to win to make the playoffs.”
The team lost their season opener to Hamilton 3-0 on March 7. After themselves, the boys came out and secured their first win by a margin of three runs against Pasadena Polytechnic High School. The boys started off a bit slow against Polytechnic, but they were able to shutdown the Panthers with excellent fielding and pitching.
“We have great pitchers this year, even if our offense doesn’t do as well as we would like. We can rely on our defense to get the job done,” Sophomore Zech Jarrard said. “We have fast runners, now we just need to get some hits to bring them home.”
The Rams went on to participate in the Arcadia Elks Tournament, blowing out Rosemead in their first game 9-1. Then, the Rams went on to play close game against Saint Francis, but were defeated 3-2, finishing the tournament with a win and loss apiece. Then the boys faced their toughest opponent of the year, South Hills, losing by a margin of eight runs to end the preseason.
The team played against the South Pasadena Tigers for their league opener winning by a margin of six runs. They kept the ball rolling as the boys claimed a victory versus the La Cañada Spartans. The Rams later suffered two losses to Monrovia Wildcats and the San Marino Titans.
“We are having a great year so far and we want to go on to C.I.F.,” Senior Rusty Romero said. “We have a solid chance of advancing pretty far in the playoffs.”
The boys have improved their defense from last year due to better pitching and more efficient fielding. The boys continue to work on their weaknesses in order to attain a spot in C.I.F., finish first place in Rio Hondo League and ultimately win a C.I.F title.