Hamlet Nalbandyan
NORTHWEST GLENDALE -- Jim Delzell hopes the message was sent.
The usually calm and collected Hoover High baseball coach was anything
but that during his postgame speech Friday.
Yes, his team beat visiting Pasadena, 6-3, in a Pacific League game,
but Delzell knows that for his team to have any chance against the
league's powerhouses -- that being Crescenta Valley and Arcadia -- they
have to perform much better than that.
Against a Bulldog team that came in tied with Muir for the league's
cellar position, the Tornadoes (8-4, 4-3 in league) were an unlikely
offensive performance away from possibly losing.
"I'm just not pleased with the way we executed," Delzell said. "We did
some things that won't show up in the box score that were wrong."
Things like not capitilizing on a runner-at-third-and-no-out
situation. Or throwing to third on a sacrifice bunt with no outs when
there was really no chance of getting the runner, which loaded the bases
and led to a pair of Pasadena runs.
There's more.
Pasadena (4-8, 1-6) had a hit in every inning and at least two in five
of the seven, finishing with 12. The Bulldogs also took advantage of five
hit batsmen and four walks.
However, one thing they didn't take advantage of was hitting with
runners in scoring position. Pasadena loaded the bases in four innings,
but ended up leaving 13 runners on base.
Credit that to the gutsy performance of starter Jimmy Crowder -- who
went six innings to improve to 3-0 -- and the defense behind him, which
bailed out the senior thanks to three double plays.
Hoover was also bailed out in other ways -- like with the bat of first
baseman Vahan Kopalyan.
After being dropped down to the No. 8 spot in the order -- thanks to a
recent slump -- the senior went three for three with a home run. He also
singled off the right-field fence and added an infield single.
Kopalyan wasn't the only one to have a big day at the plate. Clean-up
hitter Philip Estrella hit his fourth home run of the season in the
third, a three-run shot, and also tripled.
However, other than Kopalyan's and Estrella's heroics, the Tornado
bats were for the most part silent.
"Those two really bailed us out today," Delzell said. "If it wasn't
for Vahan and Philip coming through, it could have been a different
story."
Kopalyan also contributed on the mound. He pitched the seventh inning,
escaping from a bases loaded and one-out situation to earn his first save
of the season.
BOX SCORE
Pasadena*0*2*0*1*0*0*0*--*3*12*0
Hoover*1*0*4*1*0*0*x*--*6*10*1
Pasadena*IP*R*ER*H*BB*K
Abbott*6*6*5*10*1*3
Hoover*IP*R*ER*H*BB*K
Crowder*6*3*2*11*3*3
Kopalyan*1*0*0*1*1*2
Totals*7*3*2*12*4*5
WP-Crowder (3-0).
LP-Abbott (2-3).
SV-Kopalyan (1).
2B: P-Parker, Lomeli.
3B: H-Estrella.
HR: H-Estrella (4), Kopalyan (1).
SB: H-Crowder, Guerrero.
