The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
The scene at Bohl Diamond at Blair Field was reminiscent of a heavyweight boxing match as Millikan hosted South Torrance in the opening round of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 baseball playoffs on Friday night.
Each team sent out their prized southpaws as the Rams started senior Daunte Bell and the Spartans countered with senior Issac Orozco.
Both teams did what they could to get the advantage as each pitcher kept the opposing lineups at bay, but when the final bell rang it was an RBI single from Millikan’s Alan Machado that proved to be the difference as the Rams defeated the Spartans 2-1 to move on to the next round.
“He was great,” Machado said of Orozco. “He really had our numbers, too. But I think after seeing him in my first two at-bats, I felt like I saw him well enough. He got me both times and I struck out, but even when it was 0-2, I still had confidence. I mean, one base hit was all we needed to score that run.”
The Rams will now take a trip down to Irvine on Tuesday when they take on Beckman.
“It starts 0-0 the next time we play,” Millikan coach Ron Keester said of the team advancing to the next round. “You get the momentum and you get the first one, and then who knows? It’s been five years since we’ve gotten one, so it’s nice to get this one against a really, really good team. Let’s see what happens.”
Friday’s contest was a battle from the start as Bell retired the Spartans in order at the top of the first and Orozco responded by striking out the first two batters he saw before Adrian Ramirez singled to left. However, Orozco didn’t flinch as he got the next batter out as the teams went scoreless in the opening frame.
Logan Sain registered South’s first hit in the second, but Bell got the next batter out and Orozco retired the Rams in order to keep things scoreless after two.
After Bell had another scoreless half inning in the third, the Rams were in business after Ethan Barrientos tripled with only one out. However, Orozco responded by striking out the next two batters to keep the Rams off the board.
The fourth inning is where South got their first shot. After Jonovan Talavera hit off a leadoff single, two of the next three batters singled before Jacob Holcomb hit an RBI single to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. Millikan’s Shane Walley also saved a run earlier in the inning when he threw Chris Orlando out at home.
“As soon as I got back to the dugout I gave Shane all my props,” Bell said of his Walley’s defense. “He came up with two huge throws.”
It didn’t take long for Millikan to respond as Ramirez led the bottom of the frame with a single and Xavier Kennard reached on an error. Kennard eventually made his way to third and on a wild pitch, he tied the game 1-1 heading into the fifth inning.
The Spartans continued to square up on Bell as they chipped away with two singles early, but the senior continued to battle and stranded the runners to fluster South once again.
“I just told myself I wanted to compete,” Bell said of what kept him focused. “This could possibly be my last game, and I knew I was going to give it my all. I saw they were getting base hits and squaring up some balls, but that’s part of the game. I just had to grind through each at-bat, throw strikes and hope for the best because, at the end of the day, you have to throw strikes to succeed as a pitcher.”
Millikan immediately went to work in the bottom of the fifth as Lucas Helig led things off with a hard hit to third base that wasn’t able to be fielded allowing him to make it to first. Then Barrientos put down a bunt to advance Ethan Briones to advance to second after he came in to pinch run for Helig. Two batters later, Machado came up and delivered the go-ahead RBI single that pushed Briones across to give Millikan a 2-1 lead.
“For Alan to have probably two not-so-good at-bats and then come up and fall behind 0-2, he showed a grit that you can’t teach,” Keester said. “It’s just something that’s there, and it showed itself tonight. That base hit up the middle was the game-winner.”
With the game on the line Bell retired the next six batters with some clutch defense and an interference call on South’s Logan Sain sliding into second when Kennard was attempting to make a throw to first for a double play try.
Bell’s two biggest outs came at the top of the seventh when he made a highlight stop down the third baseline and threw a runner out at first from his knees. He ended the game with a strikeout to seal the victory. Bell pitched a complete game while scattering nine hits and striking out five.
“It was pure adrenaline,” Bell said of the final inning. “I felt like I had my best stuff right at the end, and that was the perfect time to need it. I felt 1,000 percent confidence in every pitch in that last inning.”
