Garfield wins Division 1 LA City Section baseball title 5-3 over Narbonne: 4 observations
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Chants of "East LA" rang out from Garfield fans behind the third base line at Dodger Stadium. The Bulldogs were in the midst of a four run sixth inning closing in on the school's fourth baseball City title in school history. An inning later, senior pitcher Anthony Cardenas got out of a jam to deliver a save clinching a 5-3 Division 1 LA City Section championship victory over Narbonne.
"It's surreal," Cardenas said. "I'm proud of my team of what we did. It's truly ring season this season."
The Bulldogs used their full team to pull off the title. Entering the bottom of the sixth inning, they trailed 2-1 and were up against Narbonne ace Juan Garcia who had come in in relief in the fifth.
An RBI single from Javier Cerda tied the game at two to begin the sixth inning surge. Jorge Robles then walked, which brought up Brian Ultreras. He grounded a slow roller back to Garcia on the mound, but he couldn't field the ball cleanly and only got the out at first which brought home Jose Rosas making it 3-2. A passed ball then brought home Cerda. Garfield's next batter, Daniel Canales, hit an RBI single. At the end of the sixth, the Bulldogs led 5-2.
DRAMA IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
Garfield starter Cesar Ferrer pitched 6 2/3 innings to earn the win, but he ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, Ferrer walked Brandon Dillon and then Owen Martin hit an RBI triple. Narbonne's next batter, Raymond Castro walked, which brought the go ahead run to the plate in Marco Lopez. Cardenas replaced Ferrer on the hill at that point and Lopez ripped a high fly ball to right field off of the Garfield senior. Just before the warning track, Bulldogs right fielder Demien Flores-Muñoz caught the ball to end the game.
HOT START FOR GAUCHOS
Narbonne came out guns blazing in the top of the first inning. Martin hit a leadoff single for the Gauchos and then stole second and third. An RBI double from Castro brought in Martin to give Narbonne a 1-0 lead. Castro then stole third and scored on a throwing error to make it 2-0 Gauchos.
GARFIELD SCORES CONTROVERSIAL FIRST RUN
Garfield senior Abraham Medina hit an RBI single scoring Canales on a close play at the plate in the bottom of the third. Video replay showed Canales was out, but with no replay in high school baseball the call stood.
GARFIELD RECEIVES GREAT FAN SUPPORT
More than 2,400 tickets were sold for the Division 1 title game, which is a new record. The Garfield faithful pretty much filled up the bottom portion of Dodger Stadium on the third base side. It was a tremendous showing of support from the community.
"We always travel well and there's a good reason for that," Garfield head coach Ruben Torres said. "That's Garfield, man. That's why it's a special place."
