Baseball teams wrap up demanding non-league schedules
Redondo hurler Jake Thau picked up the save in the Sea Hawks’ 5-3 win over IMG Academy in the opening round of the National Classic tournament. Photo
The Mira Costa and Redondo baseball teams are preparing for their two-game showdown in the final week of the regular season by playing against tough competition in their final tournaments of the season.
Redondo is coming off a tough battle in the National Classic tournament where the Sea Hawks won their opening game Monday with a 5-3 victory over IMG Academy of Bradenton, Fla.
With one out and the bases loaded, Mason Grace hit a single to right field to score the winning run against IMG Academy. Max Zamarripa then walked to score an insurance run.
Starting pitcher Drew Dalquist recorded eight strikeouts before Jake Thau got the final two outs for the save.
Redondo then routed Jordan of Sandy, Utah 16-2 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Christian Dicochea slugged a home run and drove in four runs for Redondo, Brett McCauley hit a home run, Theo Forshey went 3 for 4 and Patrick Stark drove in three runs in the win.
The Sea Hawks suffered a 4-2 loss to West Ranch in the semifinals. Redondo finished the tournament in 4th place after losing to Gahr 10-6 on Thursday while West Ranch won the tournament with a 2-1 victory over San Dimas.
“We are excited about our start this season and feel like we as a team can still get better,” Redondo head coach Andy Diver said. “We are working towards that each day. Our goal is to be playing our best baseball over the next four weeks and then get hot in the playoffs. We have a tough five-game stretch this week with four games in the National Classic then on Saturday we’ll play a (Redondo Tournament) pool play game against West. West is playing good ball and I have tons of respect for Coach Cueva and his program. It will be a competitive game for sure.”
The following week Redondo begins a 6-game stretch against Bay League foes Palos Verdes, Peninsula and Mira Costa.
The Sea Hawks opened their run for a league title outscoring Centennial and Leuzinger by a total of 53-3 in four games.
“We aren’t looking ahead at all, we just try to focus on our job that day, game or practice,” Diver said. “Everything else is secondary. One day, one inning, one at bat, one pitch, one play at a time.”
Mira Costa (12-6) is coming off a 6th-place finish in the prestigious Boras Classic where the Mustangs beat Cypress 6-2 before losing to La Mirada 3-2. Mira Costa then defeated Corona 5-3 and lost to Ayala 9-2. JSerra defeated La Mirada 8-1 for the title.
Last Saturday, Mira Costa defeated host Ocean View 7-2 and will play at St. John Bosco this Saturday and at West on Tuesday before resuming Bay League action against Leuzinger Apr. 10 and 12.