Hoover falls in league opener

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Sitting just outside the refurbished dugout, Hoover High first-year baseball Coach Joe Cotti spotted instant trouble.

Three pitches into their Pacific League opener against visiting Arcadia, the Tornadoes found themselves behind against one of the better hitting teams in the area. Things didn’t get any better for Cotti and Co.

Hoover committed two errors and yielded 13 hits in a 10-2 home loss Tuesday afternoon.

Hoover starting pitcher Tyler Delzell (0-2) surrendered a lead-off home run to Haram Park and the Apaches (5-2) followed suit by pushing across two more runs to make it 3-0, forcing the Tornadoes (2-5) to play catch-up.

The Apaches, who captured the league championship last season, were wise to Delzell’s wildness.

“His release point was a little high and he had a hard time adjusting,” Cotti said. “He had a hard time hitting his spots, but he’s a human being.

“They hit the first one out and we were behind every batter. It’s tough to pitch when they know that the fastball is coming. That’s a very good hitting team.”

Arcadia scored two runs in the fourth to extend its lead to 5-0 before Hoover bounced back with a pair of runs in its half of the fifth. Robert Guerrero had a run-scoring single to make it 5-1 and Anthony Cuccinello made it 5-2 on a force out.

The Apaches came back with three runs in the sixth to make it 8-2. Jordan Larson drove in a run with a single and he scored on a two-run home run by Garrett Tuck.

“Even though our pitching was off, we were still out there battling,” said Cotti, whose team will next meet the Apaches at 7 p.m. May 5 at Arcadia. “They just need to continue believing in themselves.

“It’s a long season and there’s things that we need to work on.”

Hoover finished with five hits, including a pair of singles from Eugene Shin. Delzell, Shara Aivazi and Guerrero had one hit apiece.