Instant Classic: After Nine-Inning Draw, Bonita-Northview Lose Battle to Mother Nature

Two of Bonita's Big Bashers: Both Matth Gelalich, left, and Brian Tuttle hit a pair of home runs against Northview.

In one of most anticipated early-season matchups of the 2010 baseball season in the San Gabriel Valley, neither Bonita nor Northview won. With the scored 7-7 after nine innings of plays, the weather and an expiring clock were the big winners. But until the raindrops fell and the timer wound down, it was another classic confrontation between the two arch rivals.

Carrying its momentum from the night before when it won 21-1 over Ayala, Bonita scored early and often. In the top of the first after two outs, pitcher Brian Tuttle stroked a solo home run off Northview ace Eddie Pedroza. Meanwhile, Tuttle was shutting down Northview on the mound as well, surrendering a pair of singles in the first two innings.

In the top of the second, Bonita went up 2-0 on another solo home run, this second blast by left fielder Anthony Ramos. After stranding a leadoff double by Robert Mier in the top of the third, Bonita struck again in the top of the fourth on a solo home run by catcher Mark Lindsay and a two-run shot by junior Matt Gelalich to go up 5-0. In the bottom of the fourth, Northview finally got on the board behind a solo home run by senior Bryan Urbina.

Matt Gelalich was on his toes all game long, this time right before he hit his two-run homer to put Bonita up 5-0.

In the top of the six with one out, Tuttle homered again to give the Bearcats a 6-1 lead.

“You have to give Tuttle a ton of credit,” Knott said. “He was a bulldog out there, both offensively and on the mound. What can you say! Hopefully, he’s going to be the guy to lead us to a league championship this year.”

With Tuttle cruising and enjoying a five-run cushion, Bonita’s lead would have been insurmountable by most teams not named Northview. Through five-and-one-half innings Bonita had dominated, banging out five home runs against third-year starting pitcher Pedroza, whose record was 15-2 since his sophomore year.

In the bottom of the sixth Tuttle surrendered a pair of walks and a pair of singles, resulting in one run and a trip to the mound by Bonita Coach John Knott, who pulled his tiring starter with one out and called on hard-throwing sophomore Justin Garza to put out the fire. Northview had plenty of fuel for its next fight, however, scoring five more times, including the last two on a hit batter and a wild pitch, to take the lead 7-6. Northview’s rally benefited from three walks.

Matt Gelalich holding his two home run balls. Two years earlier in the same tournament, Matt's brother, now at UCLA playing for the Bruins, also hit two home runs in a tournament game.

Heading into the seventh, Northview now needed just three outs to record another improbable come-from-victory against Bonita, a familiar pattern going back the last three years. But Gelalich changed that recent history with one swing of the bat, launching a long leadoff home run to right to tie the game, 7-7.

And that’s when Bonita saw Garza grow up right before its eyes as the sophomore struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to force the game into extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, Bonita went quietly, but Northview was surging with momentum. After a leadoff flair single by Tyle Grijalva, Bobby Ramos legged out a bunt, putting runners on first and second and bringing up the dangerous Pedroza, hitting out of the three spot. A base hit would most likely win it for the Vikings. After giving up five home runs and hitting into two double plays, Pedroza appeared more dangerous and determined than ever to make amends on the day. Back in a groove, Pedroza smashed a shot up the middle, a ball that was hit so hard, it caromed off Garza’s leg out into right field. Alertly, Bonita right fielder Kc Huth charged the ball and threw a one-hop strike to home plate where catcher Mark Lindsay corralled the ball and tagged out Grijalva sliding into home. With one out, Knott ordered Garza to give Northview’s Urbina a free pass to load the bases and bring up Xavi Martinez. Garza induced Martinez to ground to Thomas Castro at third who threw home to get the force. Lindsay then whirled and threw to first attempting to complete the 5-2-3 double play but his throw his Martinez flush in the square of the back. Knott argued the runner had left the baseline to interfere with the throw but the plate umpire wasn’t buying it. The dispute became academic, however, after Garza struck out Avila to end the inning. Garza had danced the tightrope and somehow got to other side.

“I think Garza became a junior after that outing,” Knott said. “The first inning, they hit him around a little bit, but he composed himself and he showed a ton of heart.”

In the ninth, both teams went quietly. Then the rain came and the clock ran out hours, minutes and seconds.

How this one game will shape the season won’t be known for weeks or even months, but the play on the field left plenty for both Knott and Northview’s Darren Murphy to dissect.

“It’s an early tournament game, so we’re going to focus on the positive and work on the negatives,” Knott said. “I was proud of our kids’ heart. We came out obviously and swung the bats. While we had a lot of solo homers, we didn’t do much with the execution game. But it was pretty neat to see Matt Gelalich hit a home run at the top of the seventh inning to tie it for us. And I loved the energy we got from Kc Huth in right field to throw the guy out at home with nobody out at the time, which would’ve been the winning run.”

Most of all, Knott loved the valuable lesson his team learned in just its second game of the season.

“Teams like Northview, South Hills, Charter Oaks – teams with rich traditions – aren’t going to disappear at the first sign of adversity,” Knott said. “You can be up 6-0 or 8-0, and they’re going to come back because they have that belief in themselves. They’ve run their programs the right way for a long time, so you know they’re never going to roll over.

“I was proud of our kids, though,” Knott added. “Northview had all the momentum, and it would have been easy for this young group to just fold. But, they said, ‘No,’ we’re going to tie this game.”

And while they fought back to tie Northview, there’s one battle they couldn’t win – the fight against Mother Nature.