The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Right when you think you’ve figured out the Moore League baseball scene, it becomes that much more unpredictable.
Through half of Millikan and Wilson’s first-place Moore League matchup, it looked like the Rams were en route to a one-run win after the game went quiet following a run in the first inning from Millikan, but both offenses had other plans in the second half.
Wilson eventually found itself trailing again by one run in the bottom of the seventh inning after the teams traded spurts of runs, before a miraculous two-out knock to the center field wall scored a run to keep Wilson alive and send Millikan to the plate in the bottom of the frame.
That’s when Xavier Kennard drove a ball to deep right field for a leadoff double, setting up pitcher-only Maison Crommie at the plate later in the inning. Crommie then hit a sharp ground ball to shortstop, with the throw was just off the mark at home plate as Kennard raced across for the walk-off to cap a 5-4 Millikan win at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.
“It feels amazing,” Crommie said after the game. “I haven’t had an at-bat against Wilson since last year. The adrenaline was crazy. I loved it.”
“We haven’t walked it off in so long, it’s been like three years,” said Millikan coach Ron Keester. “We made a point of it recently and we talked in the middle of the inning that maybe this is the way it’s supposed to be—maybe this the way we have to do it. X then hits that ball and Maison comes in, and what a moment for that kid.”
Kennard’s double and game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh capped a productive day for the senior, who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a handful of plays in the outfield.
“That’s a good team we went out there and beat,” Kennard said. “They competed all day, but after the last game we felt like we should’ve won anyway. We came out here and showed why, and it’s extra special because it’s been circled on our calendar all year after that first one. We came out, and all the boys were locked in and ready to make something happen.”
Millikan pitcher Daunte Bell didn’t have his best stuff, but he pitched to plenty of soft contact that resulted in a handful of runners on base. He finished with four strikeouts over 6.2 innings, surrendering seven hits while allowing just two earned runs.
On the other end, Wilson’s Cooper George pitched five innings, surrendering seven hits and three earned runs while striking out five.
“I thought it was a real pitchers’ duel,” Wilson coach Andy Hall said after the game. “[Bell] is really good and spots up really well, and [George] just competes. It’s hard to take the ball out of his hand, and it’s the couple of runs we gave them early on. It’s hard to swallow because I think we’re as good as they are, but we didn’t play like it today. We didn’t play well enough to win.”
The Rams scraped across an early insurance run in the bottom of the first inning after Shane Walley singled and advanced all the way to third on a wild pitch and a throwing error on a pickoff attempt. Fellow senior Adrian Ramirez cashed in with an RBI groundout to give the Millikan a one-run lead.
There was plenty of action from there without many runs to show for it until the bottom of the fourth inning. Marco Marchionni followed that up and singled on a fielder’s choice with both runners safe, before Ethan Barrientos safely bunted to load the bases with two outs.
Millikan then had another scoring opportunity after Walley grounded to second, but James Mirabile’s throw to catcher Cade Miller was in time for the out at home. The Rams cashed in one at-bat later though on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, followed by a two-RBI single from Xavier Kennard that got through to center field to score a pair and give Millikan a 4-0 lead.
That’s when the switch flipped for Wilson’s offense, which finally produced a couple of runs in the next frame with help from a Millikan error. The error at third base allowed Cade Miller to reach, sparking a rally as James Mirabile walked before an RBI single from Nicholas Thiem. The Bruins then tacked on two more runs as Centanni knocked in a run with a single, before Eddie Becker’s RBI sac bunt brought home another unearned run.
Wilson trailed by that one run until the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Bruins got their miraculous last-chance run thanks to Centanni. A two-out single from Cooper George put Centanni at the plate with one out away from a loss, as the senior delivered his deep shot to the center field wall to score George and tie the game at four apiece.
Millikan didn’t waver after giving up the lead, which Keester credited to the team’s sports psychologist and alum Peyton Willis. He said that’s what helped keep his team in it through the swings of the game, and what kept his team in it heading into the bottom of the seventh before the ensuing walk-off to secure the win.
“He comes to see our guys once or twice a week, and he’s got these guys ready for these exact times of moments,” Keester said. “They were prepared for that moment—it wasn’t their first time.”
The win puts Millikan alone at first place in the Moore League with their only loss coming to Wilson earlier this season. Wilson and Lakewood each have two losses while the Bruins have one more win sitting in second place.
Millikan will look ahead to its matchup against Long Beach Poly on Wednesday, while Wilson will face Jordan on Friday.
