Cervantes Again Shouldering Load for Sylmar

Senior right-hander Mario Cervantes hadn’t had a pitching start in more than a month. But, despite the layoff due to shoulder problems, Sylmar High’s right-hander showed Thursday that he hasn’t lost his stuff.

Cervantes allowed only two hits in five innings to fuel Sylmar’s 7-1 victory over Monroe in a Valley Pac-8 Conference game.

It was the 13th victory in 14 games for Sylmar (13-3, 4-0 in league play), The Times’ fourth-ranked team in the region.

“We played pretty solid,” Sylmar Coach Gary Donatella said.

“The only thing I’m not happy with is the defense. We’re still kicking balls around. But the guys have a good feeling about themselves.”

Cervantes (3-0) gave up hits to only Evan Lovett in the third and David Lusk in the fourth. Michael Perez, who reached base on an error, scored Monroe’s run on Lusk’s one-out single.

By then, however, the Spartans were enjoying a 5-0 lead.

Sylmar sent 10 batters to the plate in the third and scored four runs on four hits, including home runs by Hiram Damwijk and Jose Palacios.

After Carlos Velazco singled to drive in Cervantes for a 2-0 Sylmar lead, Damwijk followed with a long fly to center field. Center fielder Alfredo Aleman took a couple of steps in before realizing the ball was going well over his head. The ball rolled to the wall--about 450 feet away--and Damwijk cruised home for his second inside-the-park home run.

Two batters later Palacios, who doubled in his first at-bat, ripped a towering shot over a 30-foot fence 320 feet away in left field to give the Spartans a 5-0 lead.

Sylmar added two runs in the seventh on a run-scoring double by Cervantes and a fielding error.

Monroe (3-6, 2-2), which managed just six hits in two games this week against Sylmar, continues to struggle.

“We’ve got to have some guys step up as leaders,” Monroe Coach Kevin Campbell said, “and nobody is doing it.”

That isn’t all. Ace pitcher Joel Zamudio, who took himself out of Tuesday’s game in the third inning against Sylmar because of shoulder pain, is scheduled to see a specialist next week.

Sylmar’s Steve Zamora allowed only one hit in two innings of relief, retiring six of the seven batters he faced.