Sports

Baseball: Glendora Roughs Up Monrovia in Final Game of Apache Invitational

Wildcats fall 15-5, but show signs that offense could be breaking out of slump.

On the surface, Monrovia’s 15-5 loss in six innings to Glendora on Wednesday in the final game of the Apache Invitational might not seem like something the Wildcats can use as evidence that they’re headed in the right direction.

But if they look at just the final three innings, they’ll see an offense that’s could be on the verge of breaking out of a protracted slump. The Wildcats scored five runs and had seven hits in those innings, ending a four-game stretch that saw Monrovia shut out on two separate occasions and endure two different streaks of 10 scoreless innings.

“We competed today,” Monrovia co-head coach Brad Blackmore said. “We easily could get beaten by that team 15-0, 12-0, something like that. But we were battling to the end. We had good at-bats until the end. So offensively, I think that’s something we can build on.”

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Things did not start off well for Monrovia (8-7-1) against defending CIF-Southern Section Division 2 champ Glendora.

Junior starter Kevin Shue gave up a leadoff single to Tartans centerfielder Josh Luevanos and instantly fell into trouble on the mound.

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Second baseman Nick Cooksey smoked a triple into the left centerfield gap to put Glendora (9-4-1) on the board. Senior first baseman John Alexander followed with an RBI single, and then Brennan Salgado launched a mammoth home run over the right field fence.

When the dust settled and the barrage was over, the Wildcats were in a four-run hole and it was clear that Shue was in for a long day at the office.

“It just wasn’t his day,” Blackmore said. “We’re playing a very good offensive team, there’s no margin for error at all against them.”

There aren’t many pitchers in the area, however, who could get through the Tartans order and still have a zero intact on the scoreboard.

Glendora slugged 16 hits and three home runs, and five players had multi-hit games. The top four batters in the Tartans’ lineup (Luevanos, Cooksey, Alexander and Salgado) combined to go 12-for-17 with two home runs, a triple, a double and 12 RBI.

Cooksey went 4-for-5 with a triple, double and four RBI, and Alexander went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and four RBI to lead the quartet. And if that wasn’t enough, Glendora got a two-run shot out of the No. 6 spot in the lineup when Aaron Miller went yard in the top of the fourth.

“Obviously we didn’t have any answers,” Blackmore said. “I’ve known a few of those guys a long time, and they’re just tremendous baseball players. The top of their order has two or three Division I ballplayers for sure. And if you don’t pitch perfect against them, they’re going to do what they did.”

After falling behind 11-0, Monrovia’s offense finally came alive in the bottom of the fourth. Joe Mata, Reed Miller and Luis Mercado all had singles in the inning, and Mata scored the Wildcats’ first run on a wild pitch.

Nick Bueno had an RBI single in the fifth and finished 2-for-4 with two singles. Mercado finished 2-for-2 with an RBI triple in the sixth.

The loss ended a rough Apache Invitational for the Wildcats that saw them go 1-3 against some of the best teams in the area. Monrovia dropped a 9-0 contest to West Covina, rebounded to beat Nogales 5-3 and then lost to Arcadia by a score of 3-0 Tuesday night.

“We’re playing teams here that are all above us division wise,” Blackmore said. “We knew that coming in, and that’s what we wanted to do. We’re playing good teams and seeing good arms, I know that’s going to help us down the line.”

After playing four games in five days — and 16 in a little over a month — Monrovia is ready for a welcome break from the diamond. The Wildcats’ next game is April 14 at Pasadena Poly, and they return to Rio Hondo League action April 20 against La Canada.

“We need three or four days off,” Blackmore said. “We’ve played a lot, and we haven’t had a lot of practice time between the rain. I don’t remember a season where we’ve already played 16 games in 35 days. So as much as anything with this young group, we just need some practice.”


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