The562’s high school baseball and softball coverage for the 2022 season is sponsored by LBUSD Board of Education Member Megan Kerr.
The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
Millikan kept their six-game winning streak alive on Wednesday afternoon at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field by defeating Cabrillo 8-0.
Cabrillo made many improvements since their last loss to the Rams, but a powerful Millikan lineup and key mistakes made it hard for the Jags to stay in the game late.
It was anyone’s ballgame through five innings, but Cabrillo would shoot themselves in the foot in the sixth inning, committing multiple errors that the Rams would capitalize on. Myles Patton, Humberto Tene, and Christian Cuffaro all scored off errors, then Sam DeCarlo and Cameron Hegamin hit back to back RBI singles to bring in two more runners.
“We had to take advantage of what was presented to us,” Millikan coach Ron Keester said after the game. “Finally we were able to take advantage in the sixth, but, I think we swung the bat pretty well.”
In the top of the third, DeCarlo stayed hot at the plate and popped a ball up into the gap in right center field for a triple. A sacrifice fly in the next at bat brought DeCarlo in for the run.
“I was just looking for a good pitch to hit,” said DeCarlo. “I was looking to put a good swing on the ball. I didn’t really care where it went, just wanted to hit something hard and put it in play and it ended up working out.”
The Jags weren’t able to get into any rhythm at the plate, but a standout performance on the mound from Tyler Harvey gave Cabrillo some hope. Harvey pitched six inning, allowing just four hits through his first five, before the rough sixth inning.
“He gave us a chance through six innings,” Cabrillo coach Phillip Berman said of Harvey. “We just can’t have those three errors in the sixth. It’s Moore league baseball, you can’t just make three big errors. But Harvey absolutely gave us a chance, and I’m proud of him for that.”
On the other side of the mound, Millikan had it going from pitcher Logan Carr. Carr racked up six strikeouts, while allowing just two hits and no runs through his five innings pitched. Tyler Carmona fished off the last two innings, contributing to the Rams shutout.
“It felt great to give our team a chance and take pressure off to help get some runners on base and get some runs on the board,” Carr said.
“It’s nice that Carr could go out there and throw the way he did, with five scoreless innings, and nice to have Carmona come in with the last two scoreless innings,” Keester said of Carr. “It’s awesome to see those guys pitch well.”
After Wednesday’s loss, the Jags are currently fighting for a playoff spot, sitting one game behind.
“We gotta put it all together,” Berman said. “Gotta do what it takes and play a bit desperate down this stretch. We made an improvement from last week, but I think we just gotta put a solid seven inning together each game and we’ll be fine.”
Cabrillo will play away at Dominguez on Thursday.
Millikan will take on rival in Lakewood Friday on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field, and are looking to grab another win in their second matchup.
“It’s a huge game in the Moore League,” DeCarlo said. “Two big teams. We gotta win that game, it's a big game.”
