HAWTHORNE – When both teams have firepower, it’s important to have ice.
Samohi sophomore Albert Garcia cooled off the Hawthorne Cougars after replacing Andrew Mcritchie in the bottom of the third inning. The Vikings generated enough offense to get the 7-5 win.
Hawthorne kept up with Samohi all the way to the sixth inning, when Fabian Chaidez drove a groundball to centerfield to score Oscar Franco. That tied the game at five with one inning to play.
Samohi delivered, though. With Denny Arce on first, sophomore Alex Turner gave the Vikings the lead with a line drive to the right field corner. Diaz scored from first and Turner followed when the Cougar catcher couldn’t catch the throw home.
“Guys finally wanted to go up there and compete, and they come through with some big hits for us,” said Samohi coach Sheldon Philip-Guide.
Garcia struck out all three batters in the bottom of the inning and Samohi took the game.
Garcia got the win while Hawthorne’s A.J. Monarrez, who pitched six and a third, was credited with the loss.
“Their pitcher is really good,” said Philip-Guide, referring to Monarrez. “He was in there throwing strikes and we were just hoping to make him throw a lot of pitches. The more pitches we were able to see and the more pitches he threw, we were just hoping to get him tired in the later innings and then we could get on him.”
Samohi will play Hawthorne again at home on Thursday. First pitch will go at 3:15 p.m.
