Its Mettle Tested Early, Bonita Flashes Metal Late in 9-2 Victory

Who is that masked man? Bonita's Jason Plowman held off the Alhambra Moors with his arm and beat them with his bat.

Down 2-0 in the top of the fourth, their playoff lives on the line, Bonita got another big hit from a player who was just an afterthought at the season’s start. Following two-out singles by Evan Highley and Corey Hare, who had advanced to second and third on a ball in the dirt, left fielder Anthony Ramos cracked a solid single, driving in both runners to tie the score 2-2, and more importantly, give the Bearcats their first breather. It was also Ramos late in the regular season who delivered a decisive two-run homer against Charter Oak, essentially handing Bonita the league title.

In the top of the fifth, a revived Bonita was looking for more. After a lead-off walk to No. 9 hitter Brian Tuttle, Ryan Henley was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second. Jeff Gelalich’s sacrifice bunt was foiled when Tuttle was cut down at third, bringing up Jio Mier, who was also plunked by an errant fastball to load the bases. With the Moors definitely leaking oil, Alhambra changed pitchers, bringing in their No. 1 hurler, Jonathan Beltran, to face Bonita pitcher Jason Plowman, also the Bearcats’ leading home run hitter. Plowman, sensing the moment, quickly deposited the Moor pitcher’s first pitch curve ball over the left field fence for a grand slam, making the score, 6-2.

Bonita tacked on another three runs in the sixth on another two-out rally. Again it was Tuttle leading the charge. After his single, Henley got aboard on an error, moving Tuttle to third. Gelalich tripled off the centerfield’s glove, and came around to score on an overthrow to third that skipped into the Alhambra dugout.

In a blink, Bonita led 9-2. After Plowman battled through five innings, surrendering only the two Moor runs in the bottom of the first and wiggling out of jams in the third and fourth innings, pitchers Nico Calderon and Jio Mier closed things out for the Bearcats the last two frames.

I’m real proud of our kids, they showed a ton of heart,” Bonita Coach John Knott said. “We hit the ball well early, but hit it right at people. They made some plays out there. Give Alhambra a lot of credit. They hit the ball. They scored two runs early. They did a successful slash and run.

“You could feel the pressure mounting on our guys, and I was nervous that maybe we were going to try to do too much,” Knott said, looking relieved as much as he was happy to gain a pass to the CIF quarterfinals. “It was really neat that Anthony Ramos came in there and got a two-out, two RBI hit and kind of gave us that breathing room again.

“And then Jason pretty much did the rest from there. He pitched out of two jams — runner at third nobody out, first and third, nobody out. He made huge pitches so that says a little bit about who he is as a person and his character and his work ethic.”

Contributions coming from expected and unexpected places has been Bonita’s winning late-season formula. What’s in the mix for Friday’s match should have everyone on the edge of their seats.

Photos by Brett Bennett

Jio Mier is always on his toes in big games.

Coach John Knott holds an early mound conference as Bonita successfully weathers an early storm by the Moors.

The Big Plow prepares to release some major heat.