One, two, three … 17, 18, 19. The numbers added up to a near perfect game for Otay Ranch High School senior pitcher Alex Tovalin and no worse than a Metro-Mesa League co-championship for the Mustang baseball team Tuesday at Bonita Vista High School.
Tovalin took a perfect game – no hits, no walks, nothing – into the bottom of the seventh inning. The host Barons entered the frame down 3-0, needing to place runners on base in a belated comeback bid.
But when the first Bonita Vista batter hit a chopper just inside the first base bag for the first out of the inning, it appeared as if Tovalin might indeed end the contest with a perfect game.
But the Barons got what they were looking for when Ricardo Sanchez, next up, drew a walk on four consecutive pitches. The free pass to Sanchez negated Tovalin’s perfect game but the Otay Ranch hurler nailed down his first no-hitter – and fourth shutout of the season – when he induced the next BV batter to line into a game-ending double play
The win assured the Mustangs of no worse than a league co-championship with their 6-2 Metro-Mesa record while the Barons (5-2 in league) remained in the title hunt despite the loss.
Bonita Vista closes out league play Wednesday afternoon at Olympian High School, needing a victory to match Otay Ranch atop the league standings. The Barons (21-7 overall) will be facing an Eagles team that has been eliminated from playoff contention due to a string of 12 forfeitures announced last week.
The forfeits include 11 wins that dropped Olympian’s record to 7-17. Section rules stipulate that teams forfeiting more than a third of their games are not eligible for post-season competition.
The forfeits, self-reported by the school, involve a player who, according to an assistant coach with the team, had initially been cleared by the school’s administration to play but was later ruled ineligible to compete.
Bonita Vista defeated visiting Olympian, 9-3, on Monday to remain in the race for this year’s league banner. Tuesday’s game was important for both the Barons and Mustangs, as a win by Bonita Vista over Otay Ranch would have clinched this year’s Metro-Mesa championship for the host team.
The Barons can still earn a share of this year’s league title with a win over the Eagles on Wednesday.
But Tuesday belonged to Tovalin and the Mustangs.
The game pitted the respective teams’ ace pitchers – Tovalin for Otay Ranch and Ricky Reynoso for Bonita Vista. Perhaps not predictably, the game was scoreless through five innings.
The visitors got all the runs they needed to support Tovalin’s developing perfect game in the top of the sixth inning.
Reynoso, who entered Tuesday’s league contest with an 8-1 record and microscopic 0.56 earned-run average on the season, opened the frame by hitting Otay’s Eric Diaz with a pitch. Darryck Williams then advanced Diaz to second base on a sacrifice bunt. With Tovalin at the plate next, Diaz stole third base. An ensuing base on balls to Tovalin placed runners at the corners with just one down.
Frank Chavez then delivered the big hit of the game when he lined a double down the left field line to plate both Diaz and Tovalin.
An intentional walk to Osvaldo Tovalin and a base hit through the right side by Abraham Valdez loaded the bases still with one out. However, Reynoso managed to avert a blowout inning by the visitors when he struck out the next two batters.
The Mustangs added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning to go up by three runs.
Tovalin (8-2) took care of the rest on the mound.
Otay Ranch improved to 14-12 on the season with one non-league game remaining on its schedule – Wednesday at Vista (19-9).
First-year varsity coach Marco Dickinson said persistence was the team’s reward this season.
“The big challenge for me was getting to know the kids and getting to know what they could and couldn’t do,” Dickinson explained. “Our first game of the season we played Santa Fe Christian and we lost 1-0. Right off the bat, I knew we had something here.
“But then we had two of our pitchers go down with injuries and we went through a five-game losing streak. But our kids kept believing in themselves.”
Dickinson said he is hopeful the Mustangs can crack the lineup into the upcoming Division I playoffs.
“We want to keep it going,” the ORHS coach said. “We’re playing good ball right now, we’ve gotten hot at the right time, hopefully we can take this momentum into the playoffs.”
BVHS coach Vincent Gervais called Monday’s win crucial to his team’s championship fortunes. The Barons shared last year’s league title with Eastlake before going on to captured the section’s Division II championship.
“Not knowing until today how things might pan out, whether we needed one or two wins in our final two game, was paramount,” Gervais said. “If we had lost Monday’s game, we would have essentially come into Tuesday’s game tied with Otay, and that would have put a lot more pressure on us needing to win that game.”
Gervais admitted his team had a tough time against Tovalin.
“I would like to have won this game, but Tovalin was awesome,” the BVHS coach offered. “We still set ourselves up well for our last two games.”
Olympian lost, 4-0, at Eastlake on Tuesday to drop to 1-6 in league play, 7-19 overall.
Barons slam Eagles, earn league co-championship
Bonita Vista defeated host Olympian, 11-3, on Wednesday to move into a tie with Otay Ranch atop the Metro-Mesa League standings. Bonita Vista and Otay Ranch share this year’s league title with 6-2 league records.
The Barons rapped out 14 hits in the regular season-ending contest against the Eagles. The game was a match-up of teams that won San Diego Section divisional championships last year. Bonita Vista captured the Division II tile while Olympian won the Division IV championship.
Bonita Vista (22-7) will be moving onto postseason play this year while the season has ended for Olynpian, which is ineligible to compete in the playoffs after recently forfeiting 11 wins. The Eagles dropped to 7-20, including the forfeits due to an ineligible players.
Daniel Scheemann improved to 5-2 on the season by picking up the win on the hill. At the plate, Ricky Reynoso went 2-for-3 with a triple and RBI while Ricardo Sanchez drove in four runs in the win.
Metro-Mesa League Standings
Final Regular Season
Bonita Vista Barons 6-2, 22-7
Otay Ranch Mustangs 6-2, 14-13
Eastlake Titans 5-3, 23-6
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 2-6, 8-18
Olympian Eagles 1-7, 7-20
Wednesday, May 20
Bonita Vista 11, Olympian 3
Eastlake 15, Mater Dei Catholic 2
Vista 6, Otay Ranch 1
Tuesday, May 19
Otay Ranch 3, Bonita Vista 0
Eastlake 4, Olympian 0
Monday, May 18
Bonita Vista 9, Olympian 3
Eastlake 8, Mater Dei Catholic 1
Metro-Pacific League Standings
Hilltop Lancers 4-1, 11-16
Sweetwater Red Devils 4-2, 18-11
Chula Vista Spartans 2-3, 9-16
Castle Park Trojans 1-5, 6-21
Thursday, May 21
Chula Vista at Hilltop, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, May 20
Castle Park 4, Chula Vista 1
Sweetwater 8, Hilltop 1
Tuesday, May 19
Sweetwater 4, Castle Park 3
Monday, May 18
Hilltop 7, Sweetwater 0
Metro-South Bay League Standings
San Ysidro Cougars 6-0, 27-3
Montgomery Aztecs 3-3, 13-14
Mar Vista Mariners 3-3, 8-19
Southwest Raiders 0-6, 6-22
Wednesday, May 20
San Ysidro 15, Southwest 0
Montgomery 10, Mar Vista 1
Monday, May 18
San Ysidro 14, Southwest 0
Mar Vista 1, Montgomery 0
