TEMECULA – Great Oak senior lefty, Riley Ricken, threw a gem on Wednesday, May 3, allowing zero runs as the Wolfpack took down Monrovia 7-0 in their CIF Southern Section Division 2 wildcard game. Two runs in the first inning would set the tone for Great Oak as they got on the board behind an RBI triple from their lengthy hurler. Four runs in the sixth inning would then seal the deal for the Wolfpack as Brendan Shanahan, Ryan Lee, and Gavin Fien all drove in runs during their big inning.
Andrew Cito toed the rubber for Monrovia allowing three hits and two runs over three and a third innings, striking out two. Zack Menlove and Dylan Stokes each contributed in relief for the Wildcats, who could only muster four hits off the Great Oak lefthander. Ricken went seven innings, allowing zero runs on four hits, striking out nine and walking one.
Great Oak racked up eight hits in the game behind Fien and Ricken, as the lefty starter helped his own cause with the bat as well. Both collected multiple hits for the Wolfpack as Fien went 3-for-4 at the plate with one RBI and a double to lead the team in hits. Troy Grise led Monrovia with two hits in his three at bats, which was about the only shining part of the Wildcats unfortunate day.
With the win, Great Oak (14-10) punched their ticket to the first round of the CIF-SS Division 2 playoffs, where they could run into a number of local teams, including Temecula Valley, Temescal Canyon, Paloma Valley or Vista Murrieta. First up, the Pack will hit the road to face South Hills (20-6), the No. 1 team from the Hacienda League. Game time will be 3:15 p.m. Friday, May 5.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
