The562’s baseball coverage in 2025 is sponsored by the Millikan, Long Beach Poly, and Lakewood baseball boosters.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
In a first-place showdown on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field, the Wilson Bruins put on an offensive eruption that was as unrelenting as it was unexpected.
That’s no slight to the Wilson offense, but Moore League teams going up against Millikan have had a tough time scoring in recent seasons, with the Rams boasting five shutouts in their five league wins this season.
But all that changed in a hurry on Friday afternoon as the visiting Bruins smacked 14 hits on their way to a lopsided 10-2 win over the defending champs, earning first place in the Moore League at the midway point of the schedule.
“It was a good effort for our program,” said Wilson head coach Andy Hall. “You know, it’s been a long time since we’ve been 6-0 in this league, and it’s good to validate yourself a little bit against a really good Millikan baseball team. And I told (Millikan coach Ron Keester), this thing is a long way from being over. We know that, but that’s certainly a big feather in our cap to get through the first half of the league and really show up today and play well.”
The Bruins recorded a hit in each of the first six innings, with five players recording multiple base hits on the day. James Mirabile had a first-inning double for the Bruins, and that represented their only extra-base hit of the afternoon as they followed it up with 13 singles over the next five innings.
Wilson’s big rally came in the top of the sixth, when the first six batters reached base, and the Bruins put up a total of eight runs on seven singles. By the time the dust settled, their lead had swelled to 10-1, knocking the defending champs squarely on their heels.
Catcher Logan Smith was 3/4 at the plate with an RBI, Eddie Becker went 3/3 with a pair of bunt hits, an RBI and a run, and Mirabile and pitcher Benny Howard each had a pair of knocks for the Bruins.
“My approach personally was to be aggressive first pitch, and take the opportunity to do damage,” said Smith of his approach. “I felt like the whole team’s mindset was if it’s in the zone, we’re gonna go at it. And it worked for us today.”
Cooper George was also a catalyst on the basepaths, stealing four bases to go along with a pair of hits and three runs scored. Wilson swiped seven bases as a team and used the bunt game to their advantage as well.
“One of the things that we’ve realized about our team in the first 15 games is we don’t generally score runs in bunches like that, so we have to be able to execute the little game,” Hall explained. “And our guys have really started to buy into that. And once something little happens, then the bigger things start to come. And I’m very, very proud of our guys that we were able to battle today and came away with a good victory.”
Wilson cracked the scoreboard in the second as a leadoff single by Smith and a walk to Diego Valdez started a rally. After a sac bunt, Becker’s perfect squeeze bunt turned into a hit, bringing home pinch runner Turner Anderson from third. Later in the inning, a key Millikan error with two outs led to two more runs, with the Bruins on top 3-0 in the second.
Wilson tacked on another run in the third as George came into score on an infield single by Smith, whose high chopper was fielded on the right side of the infield but no Millikan defender was covering first base.
Millikan clawed back a run in the bottom half of the third on an RBI single by Andrew Perez to score Adrian Ramirez from third, but the second runner was thrown out at the plate on a perfect throw by Becker in center. That helped limit the damage and stifle Millikan’s momentum, which proved hard to come by.
Meanwhile Howard was able to cruise for most of the afternoon, going six innings in just under 60 pitches on the mound. He allowed a pair of runs to the Rams, but was able to generate a lot of soft contact and his defense made the plays behind him, with 10 of the 18 outs he recorded coming via the ground ball.
“The two-seam felt really nice today, the changeup felt good today, and the cutter really felt good today,” explained Howard. “That’s definitely what fueled me today, and they felt really nice … They’re a really good team, and we definitely have a target on our back now. But it felt really nice to go six innings against a really good opponent.”
Anthony Pack was able to triple and score a run for Millikan in the bottom of the sixth, but it was too little too late for the Rams.
The 10 runs scored by Wilson is an impressive total against Millikan. For context, the Rams had allowed only eight runs over their last 18 league games entering Friday, dating back to the 2023 season.
But ultimately, the loss only counts once, and there’s still plenty to play for in the second half of league play. Wilson is in the driver’s seat at 6-0, but the Rams (5-1) will surely be hungry for the rematch on May 6 at Wilson, and there’s a lot of baseball to be played between now and then.
Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday, with Millikan hosting Compton and Wilson facing Cabrillo at Blair Field for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch.
