Angel Acosta kept Arroyo off balance in complete game shutout
(El Monte) – Angel Acosta wobbled but did not fall. He bent but never broke. He escaped more tight spots than Houdini and in the end he threw a complete game shutout to lead Gabrielino to a 1-0 win over Arroyo in Mission Valley League action Monday.
The Knights had several trips to the buffet line but still came away hungry. They had the bases loaded in the first, and a runner on second in the second. In the third Acosta picked Mike Amaya off second after he had walked and stole a base.
Alex Solis was left on third in the fourth after singling to lead off the inning and Arroyo left two more on in the sixth and had a runner thrown out at the plate. Fittingly Brandon Jauregui tripled to right with one out in the seventh but was left stranded when Acosta struck out Anthony Miller swinging and David Guerrero looking to end it.
Acosta almost seemed more comfortable when he was in a jam throwing his best pitches when he was up against it. The junior struck out eight, walked three and a hit a batter while allowing five hits. The Eagles also committed an error behind him but Acosta was unfazed.
Meanwhile Tony Davalos was sailing along for Arroyo. He retired the side in the third and the fifth and only faced three batters in the sixth when Acosta was erased on a double play after a base hit. Davalos allowed only four hits, fanned six and did not walk a batter in going the distance. He threw six scoreless innings before Gabrielino broke through in the seventh.
Nathaniel Sarkar singled to right to open the seventh and was sacrificed to second by Joseph Lomeli. With two out Lorenzo Mena slapped one to left field for a single and Sarkar raced home with what proved to be the winning run.
Acosta came into the game with a 1.11 ERA. It could drop below one after this performance.
The Eagles moved into a first place with Arroyo atop the MVL at 4-1. Gabrielino is 4-8 overall while Arroyo dropped to 6-5.
G 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
W- Acosta
L – Davalos
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