Moors Reach CIF Second Round

VINCENT LIN

Co-Sports Editor

For the sixth year in a row, the varsity baseball team has claimed the regional Almont League title and finished their California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) run. For varsity, with a 14-1 League record, CIF is where the competition turned really fierce.

Having already taken League after their 6-2 penultimate win at Montebello, the team faced them again with an air of victory already about. They took a slippery 2-1 win, but excellent pitching from the fifth inning onward allowed them to end League with a photo finish.

The team’s League victory was owed to great team unity on the field, driven largely by tremendous senior leadership from players Jonathan Beltran, Christian Alas and Greg Saldate.

“Determination, discipline and team chemistry have all paid off,” said Beltran.

Moving into playoffs, the Moors took the first round with a solid 4-0 victory against the La Serna Lancers of Whitter. However, for the fifth year in a row, they were eliminated in the second round, in a bewildering 0-9 loss to the Paloma Valley Wildcats.

Despite their confidence and an expectation to win, according to Head Coach Steve Gewecke, they did not do play as well as they did to get to that point.

“Our hitting wasn’t coming along, and we made some errors in our defense. These little things hurt us,” said catcher Christian Alas.

Despite missing the quarterfinals, baseball has run vey far with  a 23-5 record. One game will not take away from the major performances and achievements they have accomplished this season.