On Wednesday at California High School, the afternoon bore its heat while West High Baseball defeated the California Condors with a score of 3-1.

  The game was part of the El Segundo tournament, which includes 30 teams from across Southern California. West was the defending champion of the tournament and held up to its reigning title with top performance. First baseman, Nathan D’Emilia (12), said, “Early on, we were able to get an early lead and stay ahead in the game.” He went on to say, “California looked like a good team, but they were unable to handle our pitching.”  

  West’s highlight of the night was their defense with strong performances from two pitchers, Taylor Proo (11) and Joshua Hight (12). Both of their pitching held strong throughout the game. Proo threw a perfect four innings, not letting the Condors score even one run when he was on the pitcher’s mound. He was also outstanding since he just came back from an injury. Proo said, “Two weeks ago against Mira Costa, an opposing player ran right into me and hit me on the head.” Proo got a concussion, however, was able to return to the lineup against California.

  Hight pitched hard when he played the last three innings and gave up only one run. Pitcher, Sean Yamashita (10) said, “West had absolutely solid defense and didn’t let much pass through.” Throughout the game, West dominated, however in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Condors were in scoring position to tie the game. Hight was able to shut down their chances with stellar pitching. Second baseman and left fielder, Kent Yoshida (10) said, “Although they got close to tying the game up, they weren’t strong enough against Hight’s pitching.”

  With this win, West advances further into the tournament. The team kept the command of the game and are ready to perform just like how they did against the Condors. Be sure to support the Warriors at their next game, on Saturday against the San Pedro Pirates at 11 am.