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Leopard bats go silent in no hitter

Junior centerfielder Nolan Henley checks a swing Friday in the bottom of the third inning, taking a fourth ball for a walk. Henley was the only Leopards base runner, as La Verne was no-hit by the Redlands Bulldogs and in eight innings, 10-0, at Ben Hines Field. / photo by Celene Vargas
Junior centerfielder Nolan Henley checks a swing Friday in the bottom of the third inning, taking a fourth ball for a walk. Henley was the only Leopards base runner, as La Verne was no-hit by the Redlands Bulldogs and in eight innings, 10-0, at Ben Hines Field. / photo by Celene Vargas

Lauren Crumbaker
Staff Writer

Redlands Bulldogs freshman pitcher Felix Minjarez threw a no hitter against the Leopards, for a 10-0 mercy-rule loss in the eighth inning Friday at Ben Hines Field.

This was the first conference loss for La Verne.

“You have to tip your hat to him (Minjarez), and give him all the credit in the world,” head coach Scott Winterburn said.

“He really beat us up today and so we really have to take the punch and come back,” he said.

Junior outfielder Nolan Henley walked in the third inning, but he was the Leopards’ only base runner of the day.

The Bulldogs also struggled on offense in the first four innings, but pulled ahead with six runs by the end of the fourth inning, making it 6-0.

Senior shortstop Jordan Dresner got the Bulldogs on the board with a triple to center field, driving in freshman catcher Sean McMillan.

Leopard senior pitcher Javi Iniguez gave up eight earned runs and 10 hits in just 6.2 innings of work.

By the end of the seventh inning, the Leopards were far behind, 9-0.

“We didn’t really compete, once our starting pitcher got out of the game, our bullpen had a rough time with their hitters,” sophomore pitcher Diego Cortez said.

Cortez gave up a two-run double and a walk to the only two batters he faced in the seventh.

“Their hitters were really aggressive and we weren’t able to come back from it,” he said.

An RBI single by McMillan in the eighth put the finishing touch on the mercy-rule win for the Bulldogs, 10-0.

Though this was a devastating loss for the Leopards, they remained positive and congratulated the Bulldogs and Minjarez for his no-hitter accomplishment.

“We have to learn how to overcome adversity,” junior outfielder Mariano Padilla said.

“The scoreboard said we got mercied, but those are the facts. I believe if we just come out with the right attitude that is all that is going to count,” he said.

The Bulldogs made the Leopards put up a fight over the weekend.

The team went on to play the Bulldogs in a doubleheader the following day and lost the first game, 5-3, but won the second, 10-6.

Junior catcher Phillip Parga had his first multi-hit game, going 2-for-4, in game one of the doubleheader.

In the top of the seventh, senior designated hitter Mark Jebbia singled to left field to score junior first baseman Ben White.

Senior second baseman Jared Hovsepian singled through the middle and scored Jebbia to get within two, but it was not enough to seal the game.

Jebbia went 2-for-3, along with two RBIs.

La Verne came back with a vengeance in game two, scoring three runs in the sixth inning, to pull ahead and win the game.

The Leopards are now 7-2 in Southern California Inter­collegiate Athletic Conference play and 8-5 overall on the season.

The team will face the Whittier Poets in a doubleheader Saturday at Ben Hines Field.

Lauren Crumbaker can be reached at lauren.crumbaker@laverne.edu.

Lauren Crumbaker
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