A Wildcats rally in the seventh inning fell inches short with a game-ending tag in a cloud of dirt at home plate, giving El Modena High School a 3-2 victory at the BOHS varsity baseball diamond, March 20.

Three days earlier, the Wildcats beat the Vanguards, 2-1, in the annual Halo Classic at Angel Stadium, but were unable to replicate that success Friday afternoon due to cold bats. 

“It’s putting everything together,” Rich Pohle, varsity baseball head coach, said. “Some days we pitch well, some days we hit well, and some days we play defense well. A hit and a play made makes that game go our way.”

The rematch against the Vanguards was another showcase of both team’s pitching and defense.

In the top of the first inning, the Wildcats turned a 4-3 double play by Leo Arcos (‘26) and Deacon Britton (‘27) to escape a bases-loaded jam. 

Offensively, the Wildcats’ first three batters — Nick Davis (‘27), Cam Kudron (‘26), and Britton — made solid contact, but each flied out to Vanguard outfielders. 

El Modena struck first in the second inning with a single that drove in the game’s first run. 

BOHS evened the score during their ensuing at-bat with a line drive single by Arcos, followed by an RBI triple by Adam Sena (‘27) that evaded a diving El Modena centerfielder.

Sena, BOHS’s designated hitter, walked in his other plate appearance. “I felt pretty solid at the plate and I felt aggressive through my at-bats,” he said.

By the third inning, the game settled into a pitching duel between starters Matt Stelmar (‘27) and El Modena’s Cash Ferinac (‘27). Stelmar kept the Vanguards off balance from the mound, allowing four hits, one walk, a strikeout, and one run in 4.2 innings. 

“I competed and kept us in a close game,” Stelmar said.

Connor Copeland (‘27) relieved Stelmar with two outs in the fifth inning and promptly closed out the frame with a groundout. 

“I got out of a similar situation Tuesday at Angel Stadium so they had confidence in me to get out of the jam,” Copeland said.  

While both team’s pitching kept the score even at 1-1 through six innings, the Wildcats struggled at the plate, managing just five hits in 25 at-bats against Farinac, who pitched a complete game. 

“We’ve been scared at the plate and we try turning it on later in the game but there isn’t enough time so we need to come out swinging early,” Kudron said.

In the fifth inning, Davis fielded a ground ball at shortstop and fired a throw to catcher Hudson Sims (‘26) at home to stop a potential go-ahead run, keeping the game tied into the sixth inning. 

After a scoreless sixth by Copeland and Farinac, El Modena took the lead with an RBI double down the left field line, with the runner advancing to third on an error by leftfielder Matthew Cosylion (‘26), then scoring again on a sacrifice fly.

Down 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Wildcats rallied, first by Sena reaching base on a walk, and then, with two outs, Owen Palamino (‘27) was hit by a pitch, moving pinch runner Yair Antuna (‘27) to second. Davis followed with a one-hop grounder that bounced over the glove of the Vanguards shortstop, driving in Antuna, to cut the deficit to one. Palamino, trying to beat the throw from left field, was tagged out at home in a cloud of dirt, ending the game. 

“We did a great job in the bottom of the seventh to force the game to come down to the last play,” Copeland said. 

The loss, which stalled their three-game win-streak, dropped the Wildcats’ overall record to 4-8, and, with the split with El Modena, 1-1 in the Freeway League. 

Pohle attributes the Wildcats’ record this season to inexperience. 

“We are getting out there and seeing what league play looks like,” Pohle said. “A lot of these kids are just coming up from JV and a lot of them haven’t played too much varsity innings. [We] are trying to get them a feel for the game’s speed and get them caught up. They’re starting to realize they can play with the better teams around.” 

Despite the loss, the recent three-game win streak and the pair of one-run games against a league rival have created some momentum for a Wildcats team that started the season with six losses. 

“We just have to continue working hard, but we are right where we want to be,” Davis said. “Just have to clean up the small things.”

“Kids are playing hard and that’s all we ask for,” Pohle said. “We go out there to compete and try our best.”