Spirited Mustangs Beat El Segundo in Game 1 of Henry Pearson Classic

The Mustangs used a near flawless effort from starting pitcher Sean Isaac at the first-ever Henry Pearson Classic on Monday, giving Isaac plenty of run support, winning 11-1 over rival El Segundo.

“I’ve been pretty solid so far. Today I had a lot behind me," said Isaac. "I was ready all day today to come out and get this win for Henry."

Monday's inaugural Classic, a doubleheader at Marine Avenue Park in Manhattan Beach, is the beginning of an annual matchup between El Segundo and Mira Costa , a former Mustang baseball player who died in a car crash on April 2, 2009.

Friends Courtney Stewart and Anaheim Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart were also killed in the accident when a drunk driver ran a red light and struck their vehicle.

Another former Mustangs baseball player, Jon Wilhite, survived the car crash and has made a near full recovery—the 26 year-old hurled a ceremonial first pitch across the plate following the Mustangs win in game one Monday. 

“We are so excited that the community has come together for this," said Henry’s mother Areta Pearson. "I think Henry would have liked this. He was a team player and loved the idea of the individual supporting the team and the team giving support to the individual in a circular way.” 

“This is a great event to honor Henry and to have Jon here is amazing,"  said Mira Costa head coach Cassidy Olson . "They were the types of players you dream about coaching: hard working, team first and overachievers who gave it their all.” 

Isaac, a senior who will be relied upon heavily this season after the departure of last year’s talented senior trio of Drew Van Orden, Robert Parucha and Lucas Whitehill, went the distance for the Mustangs.

He faced 25 batters during his seven innings, allowing only three hits and a walk, while striking out four.

“Sean was just dominant,” Olson said. “He is coming into his own this year. Last year we didn’t need him as much because of our depth; we had three guys go division one in our rotation.”

The majority of the Mira Costa offense came in the fifth inning as the Mustangs exploded for eight runs.

Leading 3-0, with Derek Largent and Bret Collins on base, catcher Ian McLoughlin doubled to center field scoring Largent.

Ryan Franklin would follow with a double of his own as his blast to the right field corner drove in two more runs.

“Offensively we went in with confidence and the rest took care of itself," said McLoughlin. "We started getting some hits and that gave us momentum that carried us through."

The Mira Costa bats were far from done, however, with Garrett Fedor, Turner Conrad, Largent and Collins driving in run-on hits as the Mustangs batted around in the fifth.

The Mustangs' 11 runs (on 12 hits) were more than enough for Isaac as he was an out away from the shutout, but then allowed one run to cross the plate in the game's final inning. 

“When this team gets our bats going we are tough to beat, we didn’t ease up and played our hearts out,” Isaac said.

The Mustangs' six, seven and eight hitters in the lineup (Collins, McLoughlin and Franklin) each had two hits to lead the Mustangs. Conrad scored runs in all three of his at-bats.

Coming up on Patch: Coverage of Game 2 in the Henry Pearson Classic.