Baseball: Edson and Dominguez Come Up Big in Arcadia Victory

In a battle of Pacific League unbeatens, Arcadia ace K.J. Edson outlasted a trio of Falcon flamethrowers to earn a 4-2 victory over Crescenta Valley on Friday. Shortstop Tyler Dominguez had two huge hits for the Apaches – an RBI single on a squeeze play in the fourth inning to give Arcadia a 1-0 lead and another RBI single in the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie.

“I couldn’t be happier for Tyler,” Arcadia coach Nick Lemas said. “He’s been on varsity four years, but he’s been struggling at the plate this year. It’s a huge win.”

Crescenta Valley starter Kyle Murray worked out of jams in the first two innings and cruised through the third.

Arcadia’s Gary Huang led off the fourth inning with a single to right field. Next, Cameron Silva was called for catcher’s interference on a swing by George Papavasiliou, putting Murray in a bind. Murray compounded his problems by throwing a wild pitch to Tyler Dominguez, advancing the runners to second and third.

Dominguez then laid down what Lemas confirmed as a “safety squeeze.” The bunt rolled perfectly down the third base line, allowing Dominguez to reach first without a throw.

Down 1-0 with two men on and nobody out, Murray responded in a big way by striking out the next three batters.

“(Murray) wasn’t throwing his best, but he worked out of some jams,” Crescenta Valley coach Phil Torres said. “He walked too many batters and his pitch count got high. The biggest killer was all the two-out hits we allowed.”

Arcadia tacked on a run in the fifth inning after a Falcon error allowed Haram Park to reach base and eventually score on a groundout by Erik Trask. Murray had started the inning, but was relieved by Troy Mulcahey.

Edson hit his only rough patch in the bottom of the fifth. He beaned Silva to start the inning, and then threw a wild pitch to advance Silva to second. Silva took third on a groundout by Andrew Fagundo and scored on a groundout by Cole Currie.

With nobody on and two out, Edson walked Elliott Surrey and threw another wild pitch, advancing Surrey to second. With a base open at first, Edson intentionally walked slugger Mulcahey to get to Troy Prasertsit. Prasertsit hit a well-placed ball past a diving Park at thirdbase for an RBI single.

“(Prasertsit) came through for us there,” Torres said. “He was patient and put the ball in play."

Edson got out of the jam by getting Murray to groundout. Edson induced a total of 12 groundball outs in the game, six of which were fielded by himself.

“I didn’t have my best stuff, but my fastball was getting them out,” said Edson. “My fastball tails into right-handers and they get jammed. That’s how I get all the groundballs.”

Mulcahey shut down the Apache bats in the sixth inning and got the first two batters of the seventh inning out. But the Apaches once again proved unwilling to go down in order. Mulcahey walked Papavasiliou and was relieved by Eliott Surrey.

Surrey, a lefthander who threw a no-hitter in his last outing, faced a seemingly “easy out” in eight-hole hitter Rodriguez. But a wild pitch advanced Papavasiliou to second and with two strikes, Rodriguez slapped a hard grounder into left field to score Papavasiliou.

“I was just trying to keep my front shoulder in and find a hole somewhere,” said Dominguez. “You can’t try to do too much in a big spot like that.”

Dominguez’s younger brother, David Dominguez, followed with a single. Arcadia scored an insurance run with a first and third double-steal, the older Dominguez safe at home while the younger tagged out at second to end the inning. It would prove unnecessary as Edson shut down the Falcons in order to end the game.

“I’m extremely happy about getting 10 hits off those three pitchers,” Lemas said. “Anyone of those three would be a staff ace at any other school.”

The win improves the Apaches’ winning streak in the Pacific League to an impressive 22 games. Arcadia (14-3, 5-0) will resume league play at home against Burbank on Tuesday while Crescenta Valley (14-3, 4-1) will travel to Pasadena.