Eagles Baseball

This year’s varsity team has been nothing short of a success. Of course they have had their up and down games, but overall the Eagles have been playing exceptionally well. Boasting a 16-6 record overall, and an 8-1 Ocean League record, the Eagles got a shot to prove their status at the San Luis Obispo tournament.

El Segundo faced Royal in the first round of the tournament. The Eagles bombarded Royal for two runs in the fourth inning. Brad Franks led the inning off with a double, which was followed by Dane Braunecker who hit a single with Franks scoring. Pat Shrum then brought in the second run with a sacrifice, Braunecker scoring. With a 2-0 lead, Royal retaliated with two runs in the next inning. Going into extra innings, the Eagles began the rally with Sean McNally walking on four pitches. Robi Estrada also walked in his next at-bat, leaving El Segundo with runners on first and second base. With two runners on, Derrick Duarte reached on an error, which brought in McNally to score. Franks then brought home another run with an RBI single, giving the Eagles a 6-2 victory in extra innings.

Advancing into the second round, El Segundo faced Alemany. The Eagles were simply blown away by pitching, as they could not record their first hit until the fourth inning, which was by McNally. In the sixth inning, Matt Richards scored the Eagles only run off of Tyson Hawley’s single, his second of the game. Taylor Adlam pitched seven strong innings, but gave up three runs as El Segundo lost 1-3.

In a third round game against Fountain Valley, the Eagles played in one of the most dramatic games ever played in El Segundo. The game went a full eleven innings, both teams clearing the benches using every player in reserve they could. The game ended on an eleventh inning walk off home run. The Eagles lost a heartbreaker, 0-1.

El Segundo then played in what would be their last game in the tournament facing Calabasas. Again, the Eagles had a thing for dramatics as the game came down to the final out. Franks eventually scored the winning run with Austin Meick getting a base hit, picking up the winning RBI. Meick also pitched six strong innings, while striking out five. Louis Zetino picked up the save, shutting down the Calabasas offense. Although the tournament championship was out of the question for the Eagles, they still proved that they are to contend for the top spot in the Ocean League.

El Segundo got back into the Ocean League competition with a two game series against Culver City. McNally and Estrada each scored in the first inning, giving the Eagles an early 2-0 lead. In the third inning, Hawley and Duarte got back-to-back doubles and each scored to put the Eagles ahead 4-0. Culver City would eventually get a run in the sixth inning, but that would be the only run allowed as El Segundo won 4-1. Jeff McKinley pitched six innings, allowing only three hits and one run while striking out fourteen batters. McNally recorded his fourth save as he shut the door for the Eagles.

Game two featured the same old song and dance, with El Segundo winning 3-1. Richards led the game off with a single and was followed by McNally who reached base by getting hit by a pitch. Both would score to give the Eagles an early 2-0 lead. Hawley would add on with his solo home run in the sixth inning, boosting the Eagles to a 3-1 victory. Meick pitched another gem, as he went all seven innings allowing just one run to cross home plate.

The Eagles began pool play in the Redondo tournament against West Torrance in the first round.

From a sweep in the Culver City series, El Segundo moved onto Hawthorne. This game was a blowout from the beginning, as the Eagles scored six runs in the first inning. With thirteen hits as a team and a home run by Bryan Yatabe, fourteen runs would be more than enough to eliminate the Cougars.

With sole possession of first place in the Ocean League (8-1), and an overall record of 16-6, El Segundo is in place to win another league championship. Three more league games against Redondo and Torrance (two games) could decide the fate of the Ocean League championship.