March 16, 2026<\/p>\n
By Loren Kopff \u2022 @LorenKopff on X<\/p>\n
For the first five innings, La Mirada High was flustered by the pitching of Cole Harris from Campo Verde High in the first game of the 52nd Anaheim Lions Baseball Tournament last Friday. But over the next two innings, the Matadores were doing the flustering against Harris and two relievers.<\/p>\n
Held to three baserunners through the first five innings, the Matadores scored once in the bottom of the sixth inning, and three more in the seventh, all with two outs as the hosts rallied for a 4-3 victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still trying to find our identity and what it means to play at La Mirada, for La Mirada,\u201d said head coach Jimmy Zurn. \u201cThat\u2019s the goal every day. I\u2019ve got a young, inexperienced group that\u2019s going to have it\u2019s ups and downs, and the goal is by the end of the year, come playoff time\u2026we just have to be better. Any win is a good win; I\u2019m not going to take anything away from that.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Sophomore pitcher Julian Pardinas] was remarkable,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut offensively, we\u2019re going to continue to give lots of guys opportunities until they can solidify themselves that they want to be in the lineup. That\u2019s kind of where we\u2019re at right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris allowed a one-out single to junior second baseman Michael Burgueno and a two-out base hit to senior Jaeden Estevez in the bottom of the second inning and a one-out double to senior catcher Justin Torres in the fourth for the lone blemishes through his first five innings. The Matadores had a chance to get on the board in the fourth, but freshman third baseman Blake Barberena was robbed out of at least a single when Waylon Peralta made a fantastic diving catch in left field for the first out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a typical high school pitcher,\u201d said Zurn of Harris. \u201cKudos to him; obviously he did what he was supposed to do against us. But we have to be better against a guy like that, period.\u201d<\/p>\n
But before that, Campo Verde, the Gilbert, AZ-based school which was built in 2009, got to senior pitcher Kaden Corns immediately as Wyatt Rauch singled to the right field gap on the first pitch of the game and moved to third two batters later when Ezekiel Zion singled to right and advanced on an error. Two pitches later, both runners scored on a double to the right field gap from Zharius McAllister.<\/p>\n
Corns walked Drake Bradley on four pitches to begin the next inning and would score a few batters later on a groundout from Rauch. After that, Corns and Pardinas kept the Coyotes at bay, allowing three more hits in the final four innings and two other baserunners. Of the five, only two managed to get to second base.<\/p>\n
Corns went four innings, allowing four hits, striking out three and walking one while Pardinas worked the final three frames, striking out five, walking one and throwing 50 pitches.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a special talent; he\u2019s only a sophomore,\u201d said Zurn of Pardinas. \u201cHe was up to 90 [miles per hour] tonight. We\u2019re very blessed to have him for a few more years after [this one]. He\u2019s the next line of\u2026he\u2019s going to be a special one. He kept them off-balanced; his velocity was firm enough, and really, Kaden didn\u2019t throw bad after the first inning.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the sixth inning, junior pinch hitter Ian Nunez reached on an error and Harris walked sophomore pinch hitter Jeremiah Gomez to give the Matadores their best start to an inning. With one out, Torres was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Burgueno singled on a 1-2 count to bring home Nunez. The Matadores left the bases loaded in the inning, but at least they were finally getting to Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have anybody in our lineup that\u2019s irreplaceable, this year,\u201d said Zurn. \u201cWe\u2019ve been pretty gifted the last [few years]. We have guys who match up well against guys\u2026we think about certain guys, certain velocities, this and that. And really if it cones down to it, if you\u2019re not going to give us good at-bats, then we\u2019re going to give an opportunity to another guy who might.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris threw 96 pitches through six innings and Campo Verde went to Garret Liedberg who walked freshman designated hitter A.J. Montes on a full count to lead off the seventh. Montes was replaced by senior pinch runner Ryan Campos before Liedberg hit junior pinch hitter Joshua Angulo, who would be replaced by senior pinch runner Aaron Reyes, on a full count. That ended the night for Liedberg and Justin Klingenberg relieved him on the mound.<\/p>\n
After a sacrifice from senior center fielder Noah Rodriguez and a fly put from senior shortstop Jesse Colon, Barberena, on a full count, appeared to pop up to end the game. However, it was dropped, allowing Campos and Reyes to score, and after another batter was hit, Burgueno ended the contest with a single to shallow left on a 1-1 count.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have one guy who was in the lineup every game last year, and that\u2019s okay,\u201d said Zurn. \u201cThat\u2019s why we have guys who are fully capable and talented; it\u2019s their turn to step up, and they need to step up. We\u2019re not a very good offensive team right now and being able to squeak [this game] out\u2026the talent\u2019s there, the capability is there. Every game that comes and goes is another game of experience. I\u2019d rather be on the right side of an ugly game than the wrong side.\u201d<\/p>\n
La Mirada improved to 5-2 and has three more games in the tournament this week before visiting Gahr High on Tuesday in the Gateway League opener. The teams will then come back to La Mirada on Wednesday for the second of three games next week. This isn\u2019t the first time the Matadores have been in the Anaheim Lions Tournament, but the Matadores were not invited back to the Boras Classic, which they had participated in the past four seasons.<\/p>\n
Since 2021, this was the fourth time the Matadores have been in the Anaheim Lions Tournament with the other three seasons coming in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Other tournaments La Mirada has been in since 2021 have been the Boras Classic (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), the Loara Tournament (2022 and 2023), the National High School Invitation in Cary, N.C. (2025), the Perfect Game Showdown (2022, 2023, 2025 and 2026), the Prep Baseball California Spring Invitational (2024), the Ryan Lemmon Tournament (2021 and 2026) and the Southern California Showdown (2025).<\/p>\n
La Mirada will host Etiwanda High on Mar. 17 and Riverside Prep the next day before going to Aliso Niguel High on Mar. 19 in the tournament.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is nice to be at home [in the Anaheim Lions Tournament],\u201d said Zurn. \u201cWe just didn\u2019t get invited [this year in the Boras Classic]. That\u2019s not my decision to make; that\u2019s not my decision to judge. We would have loved to be in it, but they went a different direction thinking we were a little down this year, according to what was told to me. So, it\u2019s all good.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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