The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Damien beats Los Osos in emotional Baseline clash
Before the game, there was plenty of emotion.
During the game, it was two baseball teams eying a Baseline League title.
And in the end, Damien dealt Los Osos its first league loss as three pitchers combined on a three-hitter in a 3-1 victory Monday.
“We were leaving too many guys out (on the bases) when we had an opportunity,” Damien coach A.J. Lamonda said. “But getting a win kind of trumps it all. Any time you can get the first game in a series, its sets you up.”
It was the opener of a three-game series. The teams play at Los Osos (14-5 overall, 6-1 league) today and return to Damien (10-8-1, 5-1-1) on Friday.
Despite some missed opportunities by Damien, the Spartans’ pitching was more than enough. Andrew Carter, who is bound for TCU, combined with Rudy O’dell and Troy Lopez on the three-hitter.
Carter struggled with his control, walking two and hitting four in 5 1/3 innings. That included three hit batters in the sixth inning, which led to the Grizzlies’ only run on Jake Monsen’s
RBI single.
“Obviously that’s not the way he wanted to finish that outing,” Lamonda said. “I thought he did pretty good after the first inning. That sixth inning kind of got away from him a little bit. (But) that’s a really good team to beat, and I thought he did a really good job.”
Damien got on the board in the first inning, when with one out Julian Hines singled and Nikko Paoletto doubled before Eli Bechtel delivered a two-run single to left for a 2-0 lead.
Los Osos starter Aidan Cube settled down after that, He. allowed only one more run in 3 2/3 innings, when Ty Tancredi led off the fourth inning with a single and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Both teams struggled with men in scoring position. Damien finished 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position while the Grizzlies were 1 for 7.
“The kid on the mound (Carter) is legit. He’s going to TCU for a reason,” Los Osos coach Travis Kelly said. “We had a couple of opportunities where we could’ve executed better at the plate. But you tip your cap to a kid like that. He’s throwing three pitches for strikes. You knew it was going to have to be him beating himself probably today for us to get through there.”
It nearly happened in the sixth. Los Osos loaded the bases with one out on the three hit batters, prompting Lamonda to bring in O’dell, who gave up an RBI single to Monsen, But O’dell retired Mason Overacker and Reagan Samples to end the threat. Lopez retired Los Osos in order in the seventh to earn the save.
Before the game, Damien had a moment of silence to honor Elias and Sarah Cruz, two Los Osos students who died in a car accident March 8. Elias was a junior player in the Los Osos baseball program after playing his freshman year at Damien.
Monday was the first game between the teams since the accident. Lamonda presented Kelly with a condolences card signed by the team during the lineup exchange at home plate.
“Coach Lamonda is a class act,” Kelly said. “We’re still getting through it, it’s something that these young men have had to deal with. It’s in our minds all the time. Elias had a great connection with a lot of the boys.”
“Hats off to their parents and coaching staff,” Lamonda said. “To get those guys motivated after a tragedy like that, he (Kelly) has just done a phenomenal job. It was a really good game to honor him (Elias) and his sister. I thought it was a nice moment at the beginning of the game.”