Spartans focused on task at hand
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers HOME COOKIN'- Rio Mesa shortstop Sean Ardoin scoops up a grounder during practice. The Spartans will play their first home game of the postseason today when they host Crescenta Valley.

After winning its last two games on the road, Rio Mesa High's baseball team will finally get a chance to play a postseason game at home today when the Spartans host Crescenta Valley in the CIFSouthern Section Division II quarterfinals.

Although RMHS will gain a home crowd, the team will have to win without starting pitcher Jordan Lindebaum on the hill.

Lindebaum has pitched brilliantly in Rio Mesa's first two postseason games, going the distance during wins against West Torrance and Upland. With Lindebaum in need of rest, head coach Dave Soliz said he'll go with senior Wes Cwiklo or junior Ralph Robles-rivas on the mound today.

Cwiklo went 2-2 on the season with a 3.96 ERA. Robles-rivas pitched only 7.1 innings during the regular season, logging one win with an ERA of 6.68.

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers RUNNING DOWN A DREAM- Third baseman Sean Barber works on his base running skills. Although they're taking it one game at a time, the Spartans' ultimate goal is to make it to Dodger Stadium for the CIF-SS Division II title game.

Whomever Soliz decides to put out on the mound, the pitcher will have his hands full. In the second round against Foothill, Crescenta Valley scored 16 runs.

"We didn't play Crescenta Valley this year, but we know they are a good club," Soliz said. "We know they can hit by how many runs they scored against Foothill. In order to win, we are going to have to have good pitching and solid defense."

Soliz said sophomore second baseman Chase Crawford has played excellent defense thus far in the playoffs,

Crawford "has made about four or five run-saving plays at second base," Soliz said. "Besides his great defense, he has also done a great job at the plate of moving runners over and getting some hits of his own."

The Spartans are a confident group heading into today's action.

"We feel the way we are playing right now, we can compete with anyone," junior Joseph Ramirez said.

Ramirez helped spark a rally in the top of the fifth inning against Upland when he singled in a run to break a 4-4 tie. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Ramirez said he was focused in on hitting one pitch.

"It was a 2-0 count and I knew the pitcher didn't want to walk me and load the bases," Ramirez said. "My coach had told me to look for a fastball and try and drive it."

Rio Mesa would go on to score four runs in the inning and take an 8-4 lead, which would be enough for Lindebaum.

"Stats are stats, and when you look at our team we don't lead the league in many things," Lindebaum said. "However, we do have a lot of heart on this team, and if that was a stat we would be leading the league in it. We showed a lot of heart on Tuesday."

Lindebaum said the main difference between this year's team and the last two he has been on is how close the players are.

"There is a lot of team unity now, and everybody is hustling all the time," Lindebaum said. "In practice we have been putting in a little more effort than usual, and we're never just going through the motions. There is a huge desire to win on this team right now."

Alex Ramirez, the team's leading hitter with a .431 batting average, said RMHS is trying its best not to look down the road at a possible championship game at Dodger Stadium.

"We are definitely just focusing on the game ahead of us and that's it," Ramirez said. "If we don't win the games before the championship game, then it doesn't mean anything."

If the Spartans do find a way to make the title tilt, there's a chance they could see a familiar foe. Of the eight teams left in the Division II bracket, three of them are from the Pacific View League. Besides Rio Mesa, Camarillo and Oxnard are still alive.

"I think it speaks volumes to have just eight teams left and three of them are from our league," Soliz said. "It's fun to root for them now since we don't during the regular season. It's nice to know that if we do see them again it will be in the championship game."

Today's first pitch is set for 3:15 p.m.