By Tim Peterson
(Arcadia)- Arcadia rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Crescenta Valley 3-2 Friday night and wrap up the Pacific League title at Giambrone Field.
The Apaches were down 2-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth but picked up a run in the sixth when Lance Wong singled, took third on a base hit by Ari Nurhadi and scored on a sacrifice fly by Danny Chavez.
In the seventh Zach Huerta walked and moved to second when pinch hitter Hunter Victorio reached on an error. Jack Esquerra singled to right to plate Huerta but Victorio was thrown out at the plate. That just delayed the inevitable though when after Alex Dolan and Wong walked to load the bases, Nurhadi walked to force in Esquerra with the winning run.
Arcadia had just five hits on the night and four of those came in the last two innings. Ian Hofstetter allowed just four hits for the Apaches as he went the distance. He gave up solo runs to the Falcons in the fourth and sixth innings as CV took a 2-0 lead. Hofstetter struck out four and walked three but fought his way through seven innings.
“As you can see we’re not very offensive sometimes but we keep battling to the end,” said Arcadia head coach Nick Lemas.
With the victory Arcadia finished 12-2 in the Pacific to claim the league crown. Had the Apaches lost they would have finished in a tie for first place with Burroughs.
‘”It wouldn’t have been the end of the world. We still would have had the number one seed,” Lemas said. “But it’s a lot sweeter to win it outright.”
Arcadia will find out its first round playoff opponent on Monday.
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