MORENO, SOSA STAR IN BARONS’ VICTORY
There is no defense for a base on balls.
It was a painful lesson learned for Madison High on Tuesday as Warhawks pitchers walked three batters in the second inning with all three scoring.
Bonita Vista made the free passes hurt as Dante Millan singled in one and Luis Sosa chased home three with a double into the right-field corner en route to a 6-1 CIF San Diego Section Division I elimination-round playoff win at Madison.
No. 9-seeded Bonita Vista (13-16) advances to today’s double-elimination portion of the playoffs at top-seeded Santana. Madison, seeded No. 8, sees its season end at 13-15.
“In the back of my mind, I knew they had walked three hitters in front of me,” said Sosa, Bonita Vista’s second baseman and leadoff hitter. “So I figured they’d try and throw a strike.
“I went up looking for my pitch. I was confident in the batter’s box. The swing felt good. And I thought all three runners could score.”
While Madison’s pitchers walked six and hit a batter, senior right-hander Michael Moreno was superb for the Barons.
“I think he’s the top uncommitted senior in San Diego,” said Bonita Vista coach Dave Palet. “He has pitched well all season. He has pitched against some of the best teams in the county.
“He has a win over Eastlake (seeded No. 3 in the Open Division). The kid can pitch. I hope a college gives him a chance.”
Moreno improved to 4-2 on the season and lowered his ERA to 1.84 in a masterful two-hit performance.
He didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight to give him 70 in 642⁄3 innings this season.
He has walked 23 this season.
The only Madison run was unearned and Moreno retired the final 12 Warhawks he faced.
“I was in the groove,” said Moreno, whose fastball sits at 85-86 mph. “I felt really good warming up in the bullpen. I was able to hit my spots. I had really good command of my fastball and was able to get the left-handed hitters out with a change. I knew this was an elimination game, and left it all on the field.”
Moreno needed just 76 pitches in his completegame effort, getting six groundball outs, including a nice play by third baseman Jesus Camacho, who hung with a bad-hop grounder to start the seventh.
Sosa finished the game with four RBIs, getting a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Millan had two singles, scored twice and drove in a run.
Xavier Iniguez had a pair of singles, walked and scored a run.
Madison’s lone run came in the fourth when Jake Jackson singled, went to third on Moreno’s error on a pickoff attempt, and scored on Lawson Minshew’s groundout.
“The nerves are gone now,” Sosa said. “This win feels really good. We’re out of the lose-one-and-you’re done part. We know we have at least two more games, so we can relax and play.”