By Tim Peterson
Charter Oak racked up 12 runs in the second inning and rolled to a 16-1 rout of Covina Friday on the Chargers home field. The game was called after five innings due to the Mercy Rule.
With the victory Charter Oak moved into sole possession of first place in the Valle Vista League.
The Chargers jumped on Covina right away with three runs in the first inning. Frankie Robles doubled to center to drive in Joseph Avitia, who was hit by a pitch, and Martin Luna III who singled. Later in the inning Mario Ortiz singled to plate Robles.
Robles, who also singled in the second inning, set a school record for hits in a season with 46. The previous record was 43.
Covina got a run back in the second inning when Kevin Mitchell doubled and after a single by Ethan Echevarria, he scored when the Colts pulled off a double steal.
Then the flood gates opened in the bottom of the second. The Chargers racked up 12 runs as 16 batters came to the plate. AJ Guzman, Avitia, Diego Flores, Jefte Cruz, Jaden Ruvalcaba, Jonathan Limon, Luna, and Robles all had hits in the inning. Guzman and Flores each had two hits in the inning. Guzman and Luna also each scored two runs in the inning. By the time the dust had settled Covina had used three pitchers and the Chargers were up 15-1.
Charter Oak added one more in the fourth inning on a double and a single.
Ryan Blehm started and went all five innings for the Chargers. He allowed one run, four hits and struck out six while walking three.
Covina used four pitchers overall but the Colts were buried by the big second inning. Isaac Flores started but lasted just one and one-third innings.
With the victory the Chargers improved to 16-8-1 overall but more importantly 7-1 in the Valle Vista and alone in first place with two league games remaining. The Colts are in second at 6-2 and 9-11-1 overall.
C 0 1 0 0 0 1
CO 3 12 0 1 X 16
Loading ...
very good to great pitching has always stopped very good hitting! At every level, even high school. I recall, before CIF in early to mid eighties created a good pitching rule limit after teams like Norwalk won the CIF Chamionship as a third place team in a very good league. They did it with their best lefty pitching all 35 innings,
Great pitching is the great equalizer in baseball, and that’s particularly true when dominating starters can throw complete games. Then, the teams that are better at playing small ball are in a good position to win.
A lot of this stems from the pitcher a team is able to play. This is another minus for baseball, in the respect that one guy can often shut-down an opponent’s offense single handed, or, in the absence of such a talented thrower, allow the other team’s bats to look unbeatable. Those who enjoy individual sports will find a great deal to like in the pitcher-batter duels.
High school baseball is perhaps the best level at which to enjoy the sport. This is simply because with the lack of 100-mph pitching, the ball gets put into play more often. I’m sure the crowd at this game had a lot to watch, which is more than what usually happens at the major league ballparks.
From T. Peterson: What was interesting was that both teams came into the game with records of 6-1 in league (tied for first) and Covina just beat Charter Oak 9-4 on Tuesday. Then Charter Oak responds today with a 16-1 Mercy Rule rout. Crazy how the pendulum swings in just three days.