In the words of New York Yankee great Yogi Berra, the final week of the Bay League baseball season is “Deja vu all over again.”
Like last year, the league title will be determined with the Mira Costa-Redondo rivalry series that begins at Mira Costa next Tuesday followed by the regular-season finale at Redondo on Thursday, May 12. Both games are slated to start at 3:15 p.m.
Redondo entered the week with a 22-1 record and ranked No. 1 in CIF-Southern Section Division 3. The Sea Hawk’s only blemish was an 8-3 loss to Los Alamitos in the semifinals of Redondo’s own tournament.
Redondo finished the tournament with a 4-0 shutout of Bishop Amat last Saturday when Connor Riley tossed a two-hitter with nine strikeouts and Jason Dicochea and Marco Valenzuela each went 2 for 3 to lead the offense.
The win propels Redondo into the final two weeks of the regular season as the Sea Hawks attempt to defend their CIF title. Redondo defeated host Palos Verdes 5-1, who began the week in second place with a 5-1 league record, on Wednesday behind a dour-hit complete game by Sean Reynolds. Redondo will host the Sea Kings at 3:15 p.m. on Friday
“We have four very competitive games remaining on our schedule, this week with Palos Verdes and then the following week with Mira Costa,” Redondo coach Jeff Baumback said. “I expect all four games to be fairly low scoring due to the excellent pitchers. I’m sure the key will be playing clean defense and two out hitting with runners in scoring position. It’s an exciting way to end the regular season.”
Riley has thrown two no-hitters this season posting a 6-0 record with 54 strikeouts in 42 innings for a Sea Hawk pitching staff that has a combined 1.41 ERA.
Fellow senior Sean Reynolds is also 6-0 this season with a 1.25 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 50 innings while junior Danny Zimmerman is 3-1 with a 1.94 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 21.2 innings.
Zimmerman also leads Redondo’s offense that has a team batting average of .328, hit 20 home runs and stolen 40 bases while outscoring opponents 186-99. He is batting .418 and tied with Sean Reynolds for the team lead in home runs with seven.
Reynolds is batting .392, Dicochea is hitting.390 with a team-leading 34 runs and Valenzuela is batting .386 while leading the Sea Hawks with 30 RBI.
“I am very proud of this team and we have really played solid baseball all season,” Baumback added. “I knew we would pitch well and score runs, but I was a little concerned with our defense. At this point I’d say this is the best defensive team I have ever coached.”
After this week’s series with lowly Morningside, Mira Costa (22-5) travels to UC Berkeley on Saturday when the Mustangs take on Northern Champions Davis in the Boras Classic State Championship. Davis is ranked No. 7 in state and 25th in the nation while Mira Costa is ranked No. 21 in the state and 94th in the nation.
“We are super excited to take on a nationally ranked Davis at Cal in the Boras Championship,” Mira Costa coach Cassidy Olson said. “Playing for a state title is an incredible opportunity that our school has never had and we want to make the Mustang nation proud.”
In the Chatsworth Tournament last Saturday, Mira Costa could not hold onto a 6-0 first-inning lead surrendering five runs in the third inning and two in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 7-6 loss.
Mira Costa is ranked No. 10 in CIF-SS Division 3 and, after splitting its series with Palos Verdes and Peninsula, will need to duplicate last season’s sweep of Redondo for a chance to share – or possibly win – the Bay League title.
“We take on a very talented Redondo team,” Olson said. “We always say we will play anyone, anytime, anywhere. That’s why our schedule is so challenging and full of Orange County and Valley baseball powerhouses. The Bay League is very tough this year and we look forward to an exciting week with Redondo.”
The Mustangs have a team batting average of .292 outscoring opponents 121-57. Their pitching staff has a team ERA of 1.33 led by senior Trevor Franklin (6-1, 1.02 ERA, 24 strikeouts in 55 innings) who hurled a no-hitter against a strong Culver City team.
Freshman Merrick Baldo (5-1 0.97 ERA, 24 strikeouts in 36 innings with only four walks) and sophomore Jesse Storey (5-2, 1.59 ERA 32 strikeouts in 30.2 innings) have been a pleasant surprise for Olson this season.
Zack Chan leads the Mustang offense with a batting average of .467 and 15 RBI, despite missing a month with a separated shoulder.
Matt Beserra is batting .347, Ty Conrad is hitting .328 with 15 RBI and Reese Alexiades is batting .301 while leading the team in runs (22) and stolen bases (14).
