By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Ramon Alcantar would be the first to tell you that he wasn’t going to blow anyone away. He also conceded that Maranatha hit the ball hard. But Alcantar did what it took to win a road playoff game against a No. 2 seed. The Jackrabbits’ junior scattered four hits, walked […]
By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor
Ramon Alcantar would be the first to tell you that he wasn’t going to blow anyone away.
He also conceded that Maranatha hit the ball hard.
But Alcantar did what it took to win a road playoff game against a No. 2 seed.
The Jackrabbits’ junior scattered four hits, walked two and only allowed an unearned run to lead Victor Valley to a 5-1 victory over Maranatha at Brookside Park on Friday in the CIF-SS Division 4 quarterfinal.
Alcantar’s lone glitch came in the second inning when Dante Campione doubled.
The Maranatha junior stole third base and forced a throw that went into left field, and Campione jogged home to tie the game at 1-1.
But that was the last time Maranatha (22-8) would cross the plate.
Charles Acker started for the second consecutive game on the mound for the Minutemen.
The sophomore lefty allowed six hits and three runs over 3-plus innings and was saddled with the loss.
Kalani Chang went the fourth inning for Maranatha and allowed two runs on two hits and he walked two batters.
Trevor Marrs did not allow a run over the final three innings on the mound for Maranatha.
Looking back, one of the game’s telling moments was just two batters into the game.
Dante Cristanos followed Alex Herrera, who had just struck out off Acker and he had two strikes against him.
Acker fired a ball right down the middle, and so much so, that Cristanos started walking towards the dugout before he realized the umpire hadn’t rung him up.
So, Cristanos walks back to the batters box, hits a ground ball, reaches via error and scores Victor Valley’s first run.
Cristanos would drive in a run on a sac fly later in the game.
Alcantar helped his own cause with an RBI single.
Mikey Prieto doubled, walked and scored twice for the Jackrabbits (18-12-2)
Justin Ortiz had an RBI single and scored in the Victor Valley three-run fourth inning.
A couple bittersweet moments for Maranatha: Eddie Lopez had a fourth-inning single that tied the Maranatha senior with La Salle’s Ethan Patrick for 42 hits on the season, which is most in the area.
Max Blessinger only reached base once in four plate appearances with a walk, but he stole his 34th base of the season, and it set a new school record.
Perhaps Alcantar’s greatest accomplishment on Friday was keeping the top three Maranatha hitters in check.
Max Blessinger, Marco Martinez and Eddie Lopez, three of the area’s most lethal and pure hitters, went 1 for 9 with a walk.
The Minutemen trio finished the season with a combined total of 117 hits, best of any trio in the area.
As disappointed as Maranatha was after Friday’s game, they will return 8 of their 9 starters.
As far as Victor Valley goes, they will face off with Grace Brethren Tuesday for a spot in the D4 championship.
Quotable:
Maranatha coach Matt Shupper: “They got some timely hits. We hit the ball hard and put it in play like they did, but their balls fell in and ours didn’t. (Alcantar) threw a lot of strikes and did a good job of making us put the ball in play. (Acker) was the right decision, because he was fresh and was ready to go.”
Victor Valley coach Juan Mejia: “He (Alcantar) goes right after hitters. They hit it hard, but they hit it at our right people. He was very calm and confident today, and he’s been like that all season. We knew they (Maranatha) were a good team and that we would be in a battle. We were the underdogs and had nothing to lose, and we went after hitters. Later in the game, our guys seem to be relaxed and calm. Our defense has been pretty solid all year.”
Victor Valley pitcher Ramon Alcantar: “I just needed to hit my spots and change speeds. I knew that they like to hit the fastball. I have a lot of confidence in my defense, as you can see in center field, my center fielder backed me up a lot.”
Box Score:
Victor Valley: 1-1-0-3-0-0-0-(5)
Maranatha: 0-1-0-0-0-0-0-(1)
Win: Ramon Alcantar (4-1)
Loss: Charles Acker (8-2)
Records:
Victor Valley 18-12-2; Maranatha 22-8
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