Bonita 9 Wins Arcadia Apache Tournament; Murfett Named Pitcher of Tournament, Huth Takes Home MVP Honors

Brandon Murfett was named Pitcher of the Arcadia Apache Tournament, capping off his performance with an 8-1 victory over host Arcadia.

Powered by a dozen hits, including seven extra base hits, and a six-strikeout complete game performance by Pitcher of the Tournament Brandon Murfett, Bonita defeated Arcadia 8-1 to win the Arcadia Apache Spring Break Tournament on Wednesday night.

The game was scoreless for the first two innings before the Bearcats broke through in the third. Connor Vislay punched in the first run after he walked and was tripled home by Thomas Castro. Robert Mier cashed in Castro with a sacrifice fly to put the Bearcats up 2-0. The Bearcats might have had a third run after Mark Lindsay launched a sacrifice fly to center, but the umpire ruled the fleet-footed Matt Gelalich had left early from third when tagging up.

In the top of the fourth, doubles by shortstop Justin Row and Vislay pushed the score to 3-0. In the top of the fifth, Gelalich touched every base, ripping a home run over the right field fence, putting Bonita ahead, 4-0. Only the ball left the yard early this time.

Arcadia finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when Tyler Dominguez grounded to second with one-out, driving in Drew Klein.

In the top of the seventh, Bonita broke open the game with three singles and a two-run double by Row. Altogether, Bonita had seven different players with one RBI or more. Sophomore Rowe collected three hits on the night while Castro, Mier and Lindsay had two apiece.

“I thought the kids swung the bats well,” Bonita coach John Knott said. “They stayed with the hitting plan. I thought we probably struck out a few too many times. However, I thought guys were trying to hit the ball the other way. Matt Gelalich hit the home run. Row had a big double. KC hit the ball hard the other way. It was a collective effort, and that’s what it’s got to be.”

Meanwhile, on the mound, Murfett seemed to only get stronger as the game progressed. His best inning was the bottom of the sixth. After issuing a free pass to No. 3 hitter Haram Park and hitting George Papavasilou, he struck out the next two batters using his full repertoire of pitches. In the inning, he also struck out the side.

“He came out and was around the plate,” Bonita coach said, assessing Murfett’s mastery of the Apache lineup. “You could just see the confidence coming from him, really from the first pitch.”

To start the game, he got a big assist from left fielder Castro who threw out Arcadia’s Brandon Benson trying to stretch a leadoff single into a double. “After that, you just knew, we had come ready to play,” Knott said.

Murfett fed off that play, according to Knott. “Brandon was ready with all his pitches,” Knott added. “He threw his curveball for a strike. He threw a change-up to that last hitter and his fastball was around the plate competitively. And he didn’t get rattled [in the bottom of the sixth] either, when maybe a year ago he would have when they had two on and one out and he struck out the next two guys.”

Bonita’s KC Huth was named Tournament MVP. Bonita (12-3) returns to Hacienda League action next Wednesday at West Covina.