April 22, 2025
By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
La Mirada High was seeking its third straight Gateway League title and ninth league crown in a row, but Gahr High senior pitcher Noah Irwin had other plans. In his first start of the season, Irwin pitched a complete game, yielding just two hits and allowing eight runners to reach base as the Gladiators scratched across two runs in the shutout victory last Friday on La Mirada’s field.
After losing to the Matadores in five of six league games the past two seasons, Gahr took two of three from La Mirada last week and improved to 11-8 overall, 5-1. It’s the first time Gahr shutout La Mirada since May 26, 2006, a 6-0 victory.
“I’m extremely proud of our guys,” said Gahr head coach Gerardo Perez. “I thought it was a team effort; obviously Noah Irwin pitched great. We got some timely hits, we executed and pulled that play out of our hat at the end of the game. No matter what, [La Mirada head coach Jimmy Zurn] does a good job and they’re a good program. It’s going to be like that every time; we knew that coming into the game. I have nothing but respect for those guys.”
“First off, you have to tip your cap to [Irwin],” said Zurn. “At the end of the day, his stat line was good. We struck out only one time, so it wasn’t like we weren’t putting balls in play. I thought we had a lot of undisciplined at-bats. I guess that’s a good way of putting it. We just didn’t hit the way we’re capable of.”
This was also the second time in four days Irwin had faced the Matadores as he pitched the final seven outs of a 10-2, nine-inning affair in which he picked up his third win of the season. His complete game last Friday was just the second for the Gladiators in 2025 as junior Jake Ourique blanked La Jolla Country Day High 2-0 on Mar. 31.
“I came in on Tuesday and shut them out for two and a half innings,” said Irwin. “So I knew how to approach their guy. That’s who I faced when I came in on Tuesday. I knew the deal; I had to pitch to contact, I had to trust my guys.”
After La Mirada junior pitcher Kaden Corns retired the first four batters on 15 pitches, he walked junior catcher Nate Guangorena and gave up an infield knock to junior third baseman Julian Lucero. But a pop-up and a fly-out on a total of five pitches ended that threat. However, Gahr made sure to cash in on its next opportunity, which came in the top of the third inning.
With one out, senior center fielder Taison Miller beat out an infield single, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly from junior shortstop Andres Gonzalez. That would be enough for Irwin, although the Gladiators stranded six runners from that point on until the seventh inning, including three left at second base, two of them with one out.
“We’ve got the right combination; Taison’s pretty good and pretty fast, and Andres had a good game defensively and had a good game offensively,” said Perez. “He stepped up and did very well.
“We had a great practice yesterday, so we weren’t down because of the day before,” he later said. “We didn’t have school [today], so it was a really good vibe coming into the game. It was 0-0 in the first inning, but after the Taison strikeout, I believe Andres hit a missile up the middle and [Kaden] snagged it, and then Bryce had a very good [at-bat], too. So, we didn’t score, but we won the first inning meaning we had better at-bats than they did.”
“In the first couple of innings, he actually didn’t have his slider very well,” said Zurn of his starter. “He was trying to feel it out, then it got really good. The pitching wasn’t the problem [today]. I feel very confident in our offense to where if our pitchers give up one earned run total, then we have to win that game. Our pitchers did well enough for us to win that game.”
Offensively, La Mirada was making good contact but was thwarted by Gahr’s defense most of the time. Senior third baseman Kevin Jeon had his potential first inning line drive caught by Gonzalez, then senior left fielder Win Gurney led off the second with the first of his team’s two hits. But a double play on the next pitch ended that opportunity. The Matadores then had runners caught stealing in the next two frames and a sharp line drive off the bat of senior catcher Jacob Celiz was thwarted by Gonzalez again.
That was a huge play because Irwin would walk sophomore pinch hitter Bear Calvo and senior third baseman Maverek Russell before a fielder’s choice from senior first baseman Jason Rodriguez kept the hosts off the board. By now, Irwin was up to 73 pitches and had no plans of leaving the game.
“I was still feeling good, but I had to really dig deep and trust myself because that’s the biggest part,” said Irwin. “I know I pitched two days ago, but I was just going to go until I couldn’t anymore; until they took the ball out of my hands because that’s all I wanted to do. I want the ball, so all I had to do was perform and do the best I could for as long as I could.
“Honestly, I think Perez stayed away from me a little bit in this game,” he later said. “I didn’t hear one word from Perez, but from my pitching coach, they know how to keep me settled down. I got a little riled up in that last inning, especially with what was going on the other side. But I had to keep my composure and just know that I had it.”
Gahr’s second run came on a one-out walk to Gonzalez and a double to the right field gap from junior designated hitter Bryce Morrison. But Jeon’s defensive performance kept Gonzalez at third momentarily. An intentional walk to senior right fielder Adrien Ramirez loaded the bases before Gonzalez stole home.
“That was a big hit, but I told Kevin Jeon what a great play [he made],” said Perez. “He cut that ball off and made a strong throw or else Andres scores. Most other right fielder’s don’t get to that ball and make a good throw because they had to go so far. So, he kept us from scoring more.”
A double play with one on and one out in the bottom of the seventh ended the game as the Matadores were limited to two hits for the third time this season and first since the third game of the season. They were also held to one hit against Corona High in the fourth game.
La Mirada, which defeated West Ranch High 12-4 last Saturday and edged Bellflower High 2-1 this past Monday in a makeup game, will now have some time off as its next game won’t be until May 6 when the Matadores (19-6, 10-2) entertain Arcadia High.
“The fact that we won 12-4 on Senior Day, I think that shows a lot of character out of our guys,” said Zurn. “Look, it’s far from over; Gahr has six league games left to go. That’s on them, but it’s out of our control, and I think that’s the most disappointing part. But let’s not take away from what this group has accomplished.
“They’ve won three straight league titles and we’re still looking out for a fourth,” he continued, referring to his seniors. “It’s not done until it’s done. If they slip up once, then we’re co-champs. But going back to the moral, I thought the moral was outstanding [against West Ranch]. We came out and got 14 hits and 12 runs against a good West Ranch team.”
Gahr began this week with a three-game series against Warren High, two of them at home including Friday’s game. The Gladiators will then entertain Bellflower on Tuesday and go to the home of the Buccaneers on Wednesday. While the league title still hasn’t been clinched, Gahr needs to win at least five of its last six games to claim the program’s first league championship since 2010. The Gladiators had finished two games behind the Matadores in each of the first two seasons of the Gateway League.
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