All photos by Benjamin Becher

RESEDA – In a tense, pitchers duel, where both offenses struggled to find their footing, Sun Valley used four pitchers to combine for a no-hitter – but it wasn’t enough. Reseda managed to scratch across two crucial runs when it mattered most, holding on for a 2-0 victory.

The Regents came in as the heavy favorite. A senior-laden squad that had dominated their first season in the Valley League. In their only head-to-head matchup, the Regents easily defeated the Pioneers 12-2. Reseda head coach Danny Swartz touted his team’s late-season offensive prowess, scoring in double figures in 3 out of their last 5 games. But their bats went cold today. Ice cold.

Lucky for Swartz, his ace, Jim Fernandez was on the mound. A player who missed his junior season because he was academically ineligible and at a crossroads in his life. But he’d been a dog all year, averaging two strikeouts per inning. Today he took the mound and immediately showed why he belongs. His composure, his tenacity— he looked every bit the part of a starting pitcher.

Sun Valley Magnet head coach Ricardo Loredo acknowledged the uphill battle his team faced. The Pioneers are a gritty, emerging program that dominated the North Valley League even though they don’t have a home field and practice without a proper diamond.

But Loredo was glad to have seen the Regents before and he devised a stronger game plan going in. He hinted that he had a surprise in store—something up his sleeve that might just catch Reseda off guard. Curiously, Leonard Chavez started, as he had in their first meeting when he surrendered six runs in less than two innings. But L. Chavez cruised through the first inning, striking out two Regents with his firm fastball.

Sun Valley loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the second inning. Fernandez had made things tough on himself, hitting two batters and walking another. It set the stage for Jesse Diaz, the Pioneers lead off hitter, to do some damage. But this is where Fernandez was at his best; every time you thought he would falter, he reared back for a little more.

Diaz walked up to the plate and worked the count full. Fernandez stared down the catcher, there was no place to put Diaz. With a scowl, Fernandez grunted out a belt-high fastball that froze Diaz for strike three and ended the threat.

In the bottom of the 2nd, L. Chavez hit the first batter he faced and walked the next. With Regent runners on first and third, and no one out, Loredo didn’t hesitate with the quick hook. It was time to bring in his secret weapon, freshman Manuel Marquez.

Loredo hinted at some lingering arm trouble, “(Marquez) hasn’t been able to throw very many innings but the last time we played (Reseda), he did OK.”

Marquez came in and immediately commanded the strike zone. He wasn’t going to overpower the hitter, but every pitch was right around the plate. He kept dropping in his curveball and struck out the first two batters he faced. He then induced a weak pop fly to end the perilous situation, keeping the game scoreless. Moreover, the change in tactic by Loredo signaled this was going to be a different type of game than the first meeting.

Every game takes on a personality, and by the end of the third inning, this 0-0 battle had made itself clear: runs would be rare and offense hard-earned. Pitching would rule the day. The only question left was: who would deliver the big moment—the clutch hit, the game-changing play? That answer wouldn’t come quickly.

In the bottom of the third, Fernandez stepped to the plate hoping to help his own cause and he almost did, launching the sharpest hit ball of the day. But third baseman Luis Marquez made a full-extension grab, robbing Fernandez of a hit and recording the defensive play of the game.

L. Marquez continued to anchor the Sun Valley defense all afternoon, handling everything hit his way and showcasing a defensive glove, along with a dangerous bat, that suggests he could be ready for the next level. This is even more impressive considering he wasn’t even supposed to play after tearing his ACL in the fall. Loredo summed it up succinctly, “Rehabbed, came back in the middle of the season, first at-bat hits a home run.”

L. Chavez led off the top of the fourth for the Pioneers, battling to a full count before muscling a single up the middle. Fernandez responded by striking out the next three batters to end the inning. He followed that by striking out the side again in the fifth, looking sharper and more dominant with each pitch. But, the score was still locked at 0-0, every potential run felt perilous—and precious.

Fernandez’s counterpart, M. Marquez, was equally impressive, mowing down the Regents with ease. He delivered four innings of no-hit baseball, allowing just one baserunner. Coach Loredo might have let him go longer, but with lingering injury concerns, he had to make the tough call. It was a shame. Marquez was in complete control.

Into the bottom of the sixth, one question lingered: who would break through offensively? As it turned out, pitching – not hitting – was destined to decide this game, and one pitch changed everything.

L. Marquez took the mound for the Pioneers to start the inning and looked sharp, striking out No. 2 hitter Don Barajas on just three pitches. He quickly got ahead 0-2 on Estevan Limon, but the next pitch hit him. That moment shifted the entire game.

L. Marquez suddenly couldn’t throw strikes and issued back-to-back walks to load the bases. With one out and still tied 0-0, Coach Loredo finally turned to his ace—his son, junior Diego Loredo—to try to escape the jam. It was probably a batter too late. But the first hitter he faced, Daniel Velasquez, worked a walk, forcing in Limon for the game’s first—and ultimately deciding—run.

Moments later, Garrido came around to score an insurance run, giving the Regents a 2-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Fernandez came out to claim what was his, a complete game shutout, setting down the last 12 of 13 batters he faced. His line: 7IP 2H 0R 2BB 10K.

But the Sun Valley Pioneers were winners too. They proved they could play with the Regents and with plenty of experienced underclassmen, they will be back next season. Loredo: “It’s disappointing, but I couldn’t be prouder to coach these guys. And tomorrow is the beginning of next year. And we’ve got a future with (underclassmen) like my son and (M. Marquez).”

Swartz was singing the praises of his dominant rightie after the win, “The crazy thing is, we won that game, we didn’t get a single hit. So, Fernandez was the man. Last year (Fernandez) was academically ineligble, we got him straightened last summer, he has a whole new complete attitude… this kid was a gangbanger two years ago. Now he’s going to junior college to play baseball. He finished with 112 strikeouts this season.”

The Reseda Regents move on to the second round of Division II playoffs and will face the fourth seeded Chavez Eagles this Thursday @ 3PM. Chavez will host.