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Sports

Tartans Remain in First Place With Victory Over Rancho Cucamonga

John Alexander belts two home runs and pitcher Sean Beckman gives up a lone run as the Tartans record their fourth consecutive win.

There are those who say the coaching staff of the defending CIF Champion Glendora Tartans’ baseball team has done an even more masterful job of coaching up to this point of the season than they did a year ago.

With the team sitting atop first place of the Baseline League coming into Wednesday’s game against Rancho Cucamonga, it’s hard to argue with them.

Glendora (13-5-1, 8-2) has opened up a 3 game lead on their nearest league rivals (Los Osos and Alta Loma) and despite falling behind 1-0 early in Wednesday’s game, rallied to beat the visiting Cougars 9-1 on 18 hits, including two homers by .

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The Tartans sent senior pitcher Sean Beckman out to the hill again and despite giving up an earned run in the opening frame, Beckman pitched six solid innings to add to his season totals which include seven wins, one complete game and a 1.94 ERA.

Glendora drew even in the bottom of the first on a 2 out solo home run by Alexander, then took a 2-1 lead the following inning on a grounder which got past Rancho shortstop Vince Shewmaker and scored Chandler Duffy from second.

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“We knew that we had our hands full, we knew that we didn’t like being in a 2-1 game with missed opportunites,” said Tartans coach Dan Henley. “Those opportunities, we would have liked to have taken advantage of them sooner, but we kept hitting the ball hard and things really worked out towards the end.”

The Tartans got three more runs on four hits in the bottom half of the 5th inning and added four additional runs in the 6th,  which featured a triple by senior Nick Cooksey and Alexander’s second homerun, this time a three run blast to center which cleared the bases and sent a lot of the visiting crowd off to try and beat the traffic.

“I’m just lucky to be out here, the pitchers out there they just do a hell of a job for us, they deserve to be run supported with hits and all that,” said Alexander after the game, adding he visited his doctor earlier in the day due to a bout of tonsillitis.

“It was just great that we could actually support our pitchers but we’ve really been doing that all year long, so it’s good to get a good ‘W’ up there.”

Even though most hitters relax when their team has a big lead, Alexander said sometimes it’s good to battle through the tense moments of a tight ball game.

“You gotta live for the moments when you’re up 2-1, it’s pressure but it’s good for you, it just makes you a better ball player.”

Henley was quick to praise the opposing team and said he wasn’t taking any team lightly.

“Their win-loss record in league doesn’t demonstrate how good they are because they came out on Saturday and they beat Alta Loma who’s in second place, they beat them 10-0,” said Henley.

“So, we haven’t been nor will we look at anybody’s record and take anything for granted and we didn’t with these guys because they’re very good and they compete well and they don’t give up, and that’s what we’re gonna get out of them on Friday and that’s what we’re gonna get out of every team in league.”

The Tartans got a mix of good pitching and solid defensive play on their way to their fourth consecutive victory. Wyatt Wood came in to pitch the final inning of play. Wood and Beckman combined for five strikeouts, two of which came in the top of the seventh inning to close out the Cougars. They gave up a total of five hits.

“We’ve been able to do that this year, we’ve pitched very well on the front end and the back end of games so Sean gave up the run in the first, and shut the door and really pitched with a lot of enthusiasm and toughness from there on end,” said Henley.

With five games left to play in the season, Glendora next travels to Rancho Cucamonga on Friday for the re-match. First pitch is scheduled for 3:15 p.m.

 

WP: Sean Beckman        LP: Gibby Contreras

BOX SCORE

                1 2 3 4 5 6 7   R  H  E

RC           1 0 0 0 0 0 x- 1    5  0

GT           1 1 0 0 3 4 0- 9  18  0

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