After one week of the Ocean League baseball race there’s no clear-cut favorite.
Santa Monica and Hawthorne split two games. Beverly Hills and Culver City did the same. So did Inglewood and Morningside.
Santa Monica also lost a home non-league game to St. Bonaventure on Saturday, 10-4, bringing its overall record to 8-9.
Alonzo Gonzalez pitched the Vikings to a 3-0 victory on Tuesday, but Hawthorne rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win Thursday.
The loss was especially bothersome to Samohi coach Sheldon Philip-Guide because the Vikings got a stellar five innings from Ethan Corn before unraveling.
Gonzalez hit his second home run of the season to help build the lead.
But a two-run single in the sixth gave Hawthorne the lead which held up.
The Saturday non-league games give coaches an opportunity to experiment, including giving younger pitchers a chance to start.
Andrew McRitchie, who is highly regarded and pitched an outstanding game in a Saturday victory over Buena, was Samohi’s starter against St. Bonaventure.
But he was hit hard and victimized by poor infield defense as St. Bonaventure scored five runs in the first inning.
Matt Staancil’s double gave Samohi two runs in the bottom of the first, but that was the only time the Vikings made a game of it.
Shortstop Andrew Montinari played third base in this game, allowing impressive freshman Mason Landis to play shortstop.
Samohi’s opponent in the second week of the Ocean League season will be Inglewood.
MITCH CHORTKOFF
Mirror Sports Editorsports@smmirror.com
