Cerritos High junior left fielder Justin Sagun goes from the sun to the shade to deny Artesia High junior first baseman Adrian Romero of a bases-loaded run-scoring hit in the bottom of the third inning of this past Tuesday’s Halo Classic at Angel Stadium. Cerritos defeated Artesia 3-0 with senior second baseman Dalton Chi clearing the bases with a two-out double in the fifth. Photos by Scott Lake.
April 10, 2021
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
ANAHEIM- Somewhere out there, former Los Angeles Angels play-by-play announcer Victor Rojas’ signature phrase “light that baby up” could be heard throughout Angel Stadium when Cerritos High senior pitcher Nathan Burton got Artesia High junior shortstop Devon Torrez to ground out to end their game this past Tuesday. The phrase could have also easily been said after Cerritos senior second baseman Dalton Chi smoked a two-out, bases-clearing double to the left center wall in the top of the fifth inning.
That hit locked up a 3-0 hard fought victory at the Halo Classic at Angel Stadium that sent the Dons to a game above .500 for the first time since the season opener, 4-0 in the 605 League, and more importantly, kept their winning streak of seven games alive.
“It was an amazing experience obviously; so cool for the kids,” said Cerritos head coach Matt Joyce. “I think they were a little bit in awe to start on both sides. But a great experience and a well-played game on both sides.”
“I think that was a great experience for the kids,” said Artesia head coach Jose Serrano. “I know they enjoyed it. The guy reached out to me about buying Angels tickets or getting Angels tickets for the team and then I asked how [do high school teams get to play at the stadium]. That’s when he said he had a spot open and then hit me up and said he could get us and Cerritos in.”
Serrano was talking about Phil Gurule, Manager of Group Sales for the Angels, who extended an invitation to Serrano. The game was originally scheduled for Mar. 14 but was rained out.
The sixth inning began with sophomore designated hitter Julian Diaz getting a base hit to the right field gap. Two outs later, senior center fielder Braxton Reed singled to left on an 0-2 count and senior first baseman Fabian Mejia reaching on a fielder’s choice when junior pinch runner Ethan Martiz was barely safe at third on a controversial play.
The third base umpire ruled Martiz safe, but a photo taken by an Artesia photographer shows senior third baseman Angel Estrada clearly tagging Martiz before he got to third base. Instead of the inning ending, the bases were loaded and on a 3-1 count, Chi roped the double to account for all the scoring.
“Julian is a sophomore who I pulled up from [junior varsity] and he’s done nothing but hit since I pulled him up,” said Joyce. “So, big hit by him; really aggressive at the plate. I really love the way he does things.
“[Artesia senior pitcher Daniel Carbajal] was a little tired; you could tell his fastball flattened out a bit,” he continued. “He got him in a really good hitters count and didn’t miss.”
“I don’t want to make Cerritos look bad or the [third base] umpire look bad, but it’s frustrating knowing [Martiz] was out,” said Serrano. “And when the umpire doesn’t have an explanation why he was safe, and he just tells you, ‘oh, the guy was on the base before he tagged him’, it’s frustrating hearing that.”
Serrano would be ejected by the third base umpire without warning or explanation for an unrelated incident and was not in attendance for this past Wednesday’s home game against Pioneer High.
Both teams had many opportunities to score in the early innings but each time there was a hint of a threat, Carbajal and Cerritos junior Eli Sarno got out of the jam. Cerritos had four runners reach base in the second, third and fourth innings but senior catcher Kaden Brickner was left at third in the third after a leadoff walk and Chi couldn’t get past second after leading off with a walk in the next inning.
Meanwhile, the Pioneers (10-5, 2-2) stranded a pair of runners in the first two innings and the fourth inning plus the bases loaded in the third despite getting three hits to one by Cerritos during that time.
“I think it was a combination of really good pitching,” said Joyce. “Their starter was great; we had a tough time against him last time, and we scored a couple of runs and they pulled him. That’s how we got eight in the [Mar. 28] game. So, really good pitching on both ends, and also nerves. I think these guys were a little nervous. We were a little passive at the plate; not swinging a whole lot.”
“They both did a good job,” said Serrano of the starting pitchers. “They were both throwing strikes and kept the guys off balance on both sides. We should have scored in the first inning. But it is what it is. I thought Daniel dominated like he’s been doing the past three years.”
In the bottom of the fifth, Cerritos junior Jayce Aragon hit sophomore Jorge Vidal but would be forced at second when senior right fielder Alex Escobar reached on a fielder’s choice. But two straight strikeouts ended that opportunity.
Then in the sixth, Burton walked sophomore second baseman Michael Nava and sophomore Ramon Chavez before getting senior center fielder Jose Garcia to hit into a double play ahead of the final groundout.
Cerritos was limited to four hits while Artesia had three hits, but the three pitchers for the Dons and the two for the Pioneers combined to walk nine batters and hit three more.
“It’s frustrating seeing guys on base and not get them in,” said Serrano. “Someone has to clutch up and not seeing guys clutch up was very frustrating.”
“We know every time Artesia shows up, we’re getting their best shot, and they’re going to play us tough,” said Joyce. “They’re a well-coached team with a really good starting pitcher. We know it’s going to be tough, and I prepared the guys for that. But yes, it always feels good to win in league. Sweeping Artesia is going to bode really well for us.”
Cerritos (10-10 overall) would get blasted by Millikan High 11-0 this past Wednesday as it was held to one hit. The Dons got back into league action on Apr. 10 at John Glenn High with the back end of the home and home series on Friday at Glenn. Then Cerritos will host Whitney High on Tuesday before going to Cerritos Park East on Thursday to wrap up that weekly series.
“John Glenn, I’m not taking them lightly at all,” said Joyce. “I know they have a really good arm, and we’ll see him Thursday night. I’ll be throwing Frank Melendrez, our lefty as well, so that will be really good. The league has improved a lot, in my opinion, and we don’t take anyone lightly. When it comes to playing in league, it’s about us, because if we can play our game, we are more talented. But we can be beat on any day, and we’re not oblivious to that.”
Artesia will visit Pioneer on Friday, go to Los Amigos High on Saturday and Oxford Academy on Tuesday before hosting the Patriots two days later. Joyce and Serrano indicated they would like to come back next season to Angel Stadium for the Halo Classic. If they are back next season for a league game against each other, Artesia will be hoping to snap a 20-game losing streak to Cerritos. They are scheduled to play on Mar. 24 and 27 of next season with Artesia being the home team in the second game.
“If we’re going to do this again next year, it’s against Cerritos,” said Serrano. “I’m a little offended that every time we lose against Cerritos, it’s a tooth in my shoulder and I want to get them. I’m looking forward to playing Cerritos next year [at Angel Stadium].
“I think it’s annoying that every time we play Cerritos, we get the calls against us,” he later said. “And I know that they know that they’re not better than us. I know we’re the better team, but it always comes down to a bad call, or umpires always going against us and squeezing us and giving Cerritos that edge over us the last two or three years.”
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