A Sizzling Lombardo Dominates El Monte

Anthony Lombardo pitched some out of the bullpen for the Mira Costa High varsity last spring, with mixed results. He had an ERA of 5.88, allowed nine hits and walked 10 batters in his 8 1/3 innings on the mound.

He has taken a few forward steps since then.

The left-hander was absolutely dominating for the Manhattan Beach Little League Senior All-Stars on Tuesday in a 4-0 victory over El Monte at Caruthers Park in Bellflower, striking out 12 in 5 2/3 innings while allowing only two hits.

Lombardo struck out one in the first inning, three in the second, two in the third, three in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth before reaching the 95-pitch count limit. Of the 17 outs he recorded, 12 came on strikeouts, another when he picked a runner of first base and another on a foul pop to first baseman Ryan Franklin.

El Monte could put only five balls in play against Lombardo, who also gave himself a lead to work with in the bottom of the first inning with a RBI triple that pushed Bret Collins across the plate.

The victory for Manhattan Beach puts the Mustangs into the finals of the double-elimination North Division 3 Tournament. They will play the winner of a game between El Monte and Oxnard Sunset on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Caruthers Park in Bellflower. A second game, if necessary, would follow at 7:30 p.m. Manhattan Beach already has beaten both teams, opening with an 8-3 victory over Sunset.

Ian McLoughlin drove in the Mustangs' second run against El Monte with an RBI double to right in the first inning, scoring Lombardo. 

Their final two runs came in the fifth inning, with Braden Casady drawing a walk and Ryan Erickson getting plunked by a pitch to open the inning. Austin Henning put down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners, and they came around to score on a single to right by Collins.

Carter Casady got the final four outs for Manhattan Beach, including a strikeout to end the sixth inning.