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![South Hills catcher Daniel Genna tags out Mater Dei’s Michael Peabody (21) in the first inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
South Hills catcher Daniel Genna tags out Mater Dei’s Michael Peabody (21) in the first inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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![Mater Dei’s Blake Hunt against South Hills during a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
Mater Dei’s Blake Hunt against South Hills during a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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![South Hills second baseman Nick Lugo (11) tags out Mater Dei’s Emilio Rosas at second base on a attempted steal in the fourth inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
South Hills second baseman Nick Lugo (11) tags out Mater Dei’s Emilio Rosas at second base on a attempted steal in the fourth inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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![Mater Dei coach and former Los Angele Angeles’ Adam Keenedy in the second inning of a prep baseball game against South Hills at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
Mater Dei coach and former Los Angele Angeles’ Adam Keenedy in the second inning of a prep baseball game against South Hills at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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![South Hills second baseman Nick Lugo tags out Mater Dei’s Emilio Rosas at second base on a attempted steal in the fourth inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
South Hills second baseman Nick Lugo tags out Mater Dei’s Emilio Rosas at second base on a attempted steal in the fourth inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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![South Hills starting pitcher Zack Bromstead throws to the plate against Mater Dei in the first inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
South Hills starting pitcher Zack Bromstead throws to the plate against Mater Dei in the first inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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![South Hills catcher Daniel Genna tags out Mater Dei’s Michael Peabody (21) in the first inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
South Hills catcher Daniel Genna tags out Mater Dei’s Michael Peabody (21) in the first inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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![South Hills’ Daniel Genna is hit by a pitch against Mater Dei in the third inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
South Hills’ Daniel Genna is hit by a pitch against Mater Dei in the third inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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![South Hills third baseman Jacob Dominguez dives for a ground ball by Mater Dei’s Blake Hunt (not pictured) in the first inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
South Hills third baseman Jacob Dominguez dives for a ground ball by Mater Dei’s Blake Hunt (not pictured) in the first inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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![South Hills catcher Daniel Genna tags out Mater Dei’s Michael Peabody (21) in the first inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
South Hills catcher Daniel Genna tags out Mater Dei’s Michael Peabody (21) in the first inning of a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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![South Hills’ Andreas Quinones throws to the plate against Mater Dei in the fifth inning during a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
South Hills’ Andreas Quinones throws to the plate against Mater Dei in the fifth inning during a prep baseball game at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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![South Hills’ Jacob Amaya wears a helmet with TQ8 for coach Tom Quinley during a prep baseball game against Mater Dei at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)]()
South Hills’ Jacob Amaya wears a helmet with TQ8 for coach Tom Quinley during a prep baseball game against Mater Dei at South Hills High School in West Covina, Calif., on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. South Hills won 3-0. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
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By WILL HERNANDEZ
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
WEST COVINA – For the last three seasons, the South Hills baseball team has not shied away from scheduling tough nonleague opponents.
The Huskies have already faced one of the toughest teams in the nation and came out winners, defeating Archbishop McCarthy, a powerhouse program ranked No. 1 in Florida, in the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C., on March 30.
So when the Huskies hosted Mater Dei on Tuesday, it was nothing new to them.
South Hills shut out the Monarchs, 3-0, on four solid innings by starter Zach Bromstead and three from the back end of the bullpen.
“Zach didn’t have his best stuff,” South Hills coach Darren Murphy said. “He’s a competitor and got out of innings when his back was against the wall. He’s pitched a lot better this year but he did enough to get the job done. But I think he’ll be the first to tell you that he didn’t have his best stuff.”
Although the Huskies’ bullpen kept the lead in tact down the stretch, Bromstead got some help from his defense early in the game.
With runners on first and second with two outs in the top of the first inning, Mater Dei had the Huskies (14-3) on their heels. Senior Blake Hunt drilled a line drive to third base but the ball hit the bag and took a big enough hop for South Hills shortstop Jacob Amaya to recover it.
With two outs, Mater Dei (10-6) did not hesitate to wave the lead runner Michael Peabody home. However, Amaya recovered the ricochet in time and nailed Peabody at the plate.
Mater Dei coach Burt Call said the play took the wind out of them a little bit.
“I don’t think it was a bad way to start the game,” Call said. “We wanted to come out and be aggressive. I felt like it was an opportunity where maybe we could sneak a run in.”
Emilio Rosas opened the second inning by drilling a leadoff double. After Kelley Holgate’s sacrifice bunt, the Monarchs had a runner 90 feet away from home plate with two outs. This time around, Bromstead got out of the inning by getting Grant Burton to ground out to second.
“At least early in the game, with runners on, their pitcher did a good job of getting pitches when he needed to and getting outs when he needed to,” Call said.
South Hills got on the board in the first when John Dearth’s sharp grounder to second base took a tricky hop on Maxwell Foxcroft. The Monarchs second baseman then made an errant throw to first, which allowed Amaya to come around and score from second base.
“Sometimes we just have to battle against a good team,” Amaya said. “They’re a good team, a good hitting team with good pitchers. We just try to put some good swings, put the ball in play, get on base and swipe some bags. That’s what you have to do against a good team.”
The Huskies added two runs in the fifth inning thanks to an RBI single by Dearth and a bases-loaded walk to Brandon Deiter.
For South Hills, three was more than enough as relief pitchers Andreas Quinones and Michael Ortega closed out the last three innings after Bromstead.
“Yeah it was kind of a staff game,” Murphy said. “We knew we would probably use three pitchers. The thing now with the pitch counts, if you’re going to play three games in a week, you got to kind of spread it out.”