After making a run to the CIF Open Division Semifinals last season, the Sylmar Spartans overcame a 1-2 start towards a 7-4 record heading into Thursday. Locked in a three-way tie for first place in the Valley Mission League, the Spartans were looking to break their tie with the North Hollywood Huskies, who also held a 3-1 league record. Sylmar turned a one-run game into a lop-sided affair in the top of the third inning with their offense scoring an astounding ten runs. Junior Rickee Luevano crushed his third home run of the season with a Grand Slam in the dominant 13-3 victory for Sylmar. 

The Spartans hosted North Hollywood as the visiting team, with the Huskies remaining without a home field due to construction on their campus. North Hollywood gave sophomore Hayden Crawford the start, and Sylmar put two runners on right away with a bunt single and a walk. Crawford earned his first strikeout in the first inning against Luevano before Sylmar starting pitcher Alex Martinez knocked in an RBI single to give Sylmar a 1-0 lead. 

Martinez recorded his first strikeout of the afternoon in the bottom of the first inning, holding the Huskies scoreless after giving up a single to North Hollywood freshman Blake Duran-Jones. Spartans junior Miguel Romero got on base with a single, but Crawford settled in to force three consecutive groundouts to retire the Spartans in the top of the second inning. 

In the bottom of the inning, Martinez allowed a single to Huskies sophomore Eliasar Cruz. Controversy ensued on the following at-bat, when North Hollywood senior Julian Placencia thought he scored the tying run with a double, but the umpires called the attempt a foul much to the dismay of Placencia and the Huskies faithful. Following the controversial call, Martinez forced consecutive fly-outs en route to another scoreless inning. 

Sylmar sophomore Omar Piñon got the ball rolling in the top of the third inning with a single, and proceeded to steal second base on the subsequent at-bat. Senior Matthew Torres, the Spartans batting average leader, drove in Piñon with a single to give Sylmar a two-run advantage. Luevano earned his first hit of the contest with a double, while Torres was held at third base. Crawford surrendered a walk to Martinez on the next at-bat to load the bases. Senior infielder Andrew Cervantes brought in another run with another bunt single to give Sylmar a 3-0 lead. 

With the bases still loaded and no outs, Crawford struck out Romero before surrendering a sacrifice fly to senior outfielder Robert Jimenez. After his twin-brother was brought home, Sylmar junior outfielder Josh Luevano gave the Spartans a 5-0 advantage with a double to score Martinez. Spartans junior infielder Timothy Sepulveda put two more runs on the board with a single. 

Trailing by seven runs, North Hollywood head coach Eder Tapia decided to make a pitching change, calling on sophomore Anthony Sandoval in an effort to stop the bleeding. He walked the next two batters with Sepulveda still on base. Rickee Luevano, the CIF L.A. City Section’s No. 2 home run leader, crushed a bomb towards center field to give the Spartans an insurmountable 11-0 advantage. 

Sylmar head coach Ray Rivera considered the third inning to be part of the growth process for his team in regards to converting with runners in scoring position. “Obviously, it’s a good sign for us because early on we were struggling.” Said Rivera in the postgame interview, “Today was really kind of our first breakout game.” 

The Spartans were engaged defensively in the bottom of the 3rd inning on a double-play, before Martinez earned his second strikeout of the afternoon to end the inning. Sandoval shutout the Sylmar in the top of the 4th inning in spite of surrendering two hits. With an 11-0 advantage in the bottom half, Martinez earned the first two outs, before Rivera switched to junior Cesar Esparza to retrieve the final out. 

The Huskies held Sylmar scoreless in the top of the 5th inning, with one final opportunity to extend the game with the Mercy Rule at play. North Hollywood finally got going offensively after Esparza put two runners on with a single and a hit-by-pitch. Rivera made a pitching change to Spartans junior Joseph Lorenzana, who surrendered a walk on the subsequent at-bat to load the bases with nobody out. 

North Hollywood junior Mateo Pignotti extended the game with a 3-run RBI single to cut the deficit to 11-3. Lorenzana settled down by striking out two batters in the inning without allowing additional run damage. Sandoval recorded a strikeout in the top of the sixth inning, before Huskies sophomore Alexander Munoz made an incredible outfield grab to bail him out of a bases loaded jam. 

Sylmar held the Huskies scoreless for the remainder of the contest, while Romero and junior outfielder Michael Gutierrez each knocked in an additional run in the top of the 7th inning. 

Romero is one of fifteen underclassmen from last season, who have been tabbed for additional responsibilities from Coach Rivera. “Now, you’re being asked to play at the varsity level against better competition.”, Rivera elaborated, “How do you react to failure? That’s the biggest key with them.” 

Following the 11-3 triumph, the 8-4 Spartans will participate in the Lions Tournament next before continuing league play against San Fernando the week after.

All photos by Benjamin Becher