Clinton Glass was the winning pitcher and had 4 RBIs. (Photo by Action Captures Media)
Paloma Valley High School, behind a 4-RBI performance and the strong pitching of Clinton Glass, defeated Riverside Poly 7-6 in extra innings on Wednesday afternoon.
Coming up to bat in the bottom of the eighth, the Wildcats were looking to finish the game off with a walk-off. After Wyatt Smith was hit by a pitch, he was moved over to second by a sacrifice bunt from Landon Bowker. Poly, looking to keep the double play ball in contention, intentionally walked Ryan Christman.
Glass then stepped up to the plate with an opportunity to win it. He ripped a line drive into the right-centerfield gap for a double, knocking in Smith before being mobbed by his teammates, giving the Wildcats a 7-6 Ivy League win.
Coach Jason Berni commented on the importance of this win after the game.
“It’s very important,” he said about the Wildcats, who are now 3-4 overall. “I think our league this year is up for grabs. Arlington is good year after year, Heritage battles, Moreno Valley is playing great, so when you look at who’s in our league, you know it’s gonna be a battle game after game.
“I don’t anticipate whoever wins the league this year is gonna go undefeated, or even win it with a few losses. So every win matters. This game could decide where we finish … whether that’s first place, second place, third place, or fourth.”
The game did not start off well for the Wildcats. Pitcher Nico Buscemi had a rough first inning, giving up 3 runs to the Bears. Poly then tacked on another in the top of the second to make it 4-0. Buscemi rebounded in the third, though, holding Poly scoreless and keeping his team within reasonable striking distance.
“Nico is young, he doesn’t have a ton of experience yet, but despite giving up 3 runs in the first, he got better,” Berni said. “I went to talk to him during that inning, and so we sent him out again and from that point it was just one of those things where we wanted him to go eat up some innings. He did just that. He pitched into the fourth, and that was huge. Without Nico responding to that adversity, we don’t have Glass for the rest of the game. He was essential for us today.”
The bottom of the third is when Paloma’s bats started to wake up. Back-to-back singles by Smith and Bowker, along with a hit by pitch, set the Wildcats up with the bases loaded and only one out. Glass and Brendon Harper showcased their plate discipline by taking back-to-back walks to cut the Poly lead in half. The Bears then switched pitchers and were able to get out of the inning with no more damage dealt, but Paloma now had life.
Smith finished with 3 hits, a walk, and an RBI on the day, while Glass finished with 2 hits, a walk, and 4 RBIs. Josh Braun, Ryan Christman, Bolt Smearer, and Elias Saenz all finished with a hit as well.
After a single, error, and strikeout, Buscemi was relieved in the top of the fourth by Glass. He could not navigate around the inherited runner, though, and Poly drove him in to give them a 5-2 lead. Glass made sure that was the only run the Bears would score in the inning.
Buscemi finished the game with 3.1 IP and 2 strikeouts and Glass registered 4.2 IP with 6 strikeouts, allowing only one earned run.
Paloma responded with an explosion in the bottom of the fourth inning. A mix of small ball and poor Bears defense spearheaded the Wildcats’ big inning. A walk, wild pitch, and bunt single set the Wildcats up to start. With runners on first and third, a Smith single to center drove in the first run. Christman then hit a ground ball to third which when thrown home was bobbled, allowing another run to score and Christman to advance to second.
With runners on second and third, Glass stepped up to the plate and ripped a line drive up the middle, driving in both runners and giving the Wildcats the lead. Poly responded by bringing in another reliever who limited the damage and got them out of the inning.
A pitching duel ensued in the following innings as neither team had much to show in the fifth and the sixth. The Bears came up in the top of the seventh, needing a run to tie the score. A quick groundout made their prospects look dim, but their following batter kept them alive with a double. He then advanced to third after a single and was eventually driven in with a sacrifice bunt before the side was ultimately retired.
Paloma could not respond in the bottom half of the inning, and the game headed to extra innings, where the Wildcats were eventually triumphant.
“Today we had great senior leadership,” Berni said. “Clinton Glass came in and threw a hell of a game. He showed a ton of poise and confidence in his game, and to top it off, he finished the game getting a nice base hit to score the winning run, and that’s what we expect out of our seniors.
“I was just so proud of Clinton today in his effort and his leadership with our team. I was so happy to see him have a career day. He had 4 RBIs and was the winning pitcher; it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Paloma Valley looks to continue its winning ways on Friday with a rematch against Riverside Poly.
Pitcher Nico Buscemi tags a runner out at home plate. (Photo by Action Captures Media)
Elias Saenz makes a throw to first. (Photo by Action Captures Media)
Wyatt Smith makes a throw to first. (Photo by Action Captures Media)
Elias Saenz takes a pickoff throw. (Photo by Action Captures Media)
