The562’s coverage of Millikan Athletics for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Brian Ramsey and TLD Law.
When you’ve got an ace on the mound and can make plays behind him, good things tend to happen. That’s been the formula for the Millikan Rams, who’ve been grinding out close games so far in the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs, and Friday’s game against Summit High at LBCC was no exception.
Thanks to a complete game shutout from senior left-hander Daunte Bell, plus some heroic defensive plays by sophomore first baseman AJ Nonato, the Rams gutted out a 1-0 victory over the visiting Skyhawks to punch their ticket to the CIF semifinals next week.
It’s the second one-run victory of this postseason for the Rams, who needed extra innings for their other victory, and have now outscored their opponents by a combined score of 6-2 through three games.
Senior Shane Wally delivered a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the 5th to bring home pinch-runner Maison Crommie for the game’s only run, and the Rams were able to hold on from there.
“It starts with Daunte on the mound. For him to go out and give a performance like that, and that’s what he’s been most of the year. Knowing you’re gonna get that gives you the confidence of, okay, we only need a few,” said Millikan head coach Ron Keester after the win. “And we barely got the one, but Xavier (Kennard) had a good day at the plate, and then Wally comes up, and I thought, Wally being Wally, had a really good at-bat, and he came through.”
As Bell battled with Summit junior RHP Mario Flores (a Cal Baptist commit), it was clear early on that a pitcher’s duel was likely. But that’s nothing new for Bell, particularly in these playoffs. After his seven scoreless frames on Friday, the University of Houston signee has allowed just one run in a combined 17 innings of work this postseason.
“Two D1 pitchers going up against each other, that’s always going to be a rubber match, it’s always going to be a duel,” said Bell of Friday’s matchup. “He held his ground all the way, I held my ground, and I just told myself I wasn’t gonna let myself get beat. And if they did beat me, it had to be on a good pitch that they saw all the way, and not a mistake that I left over the plate.”
Bell didn’t leave many hittable pitches over the plate against the Skyhawks, limiting them to six singles and a walk while collecting six strikeouts on the day.
His biggest threat came in the 6th, when he was looking to protect the 1-0 lead his offense had just given him the previous inning. A comebacker off his ankle led to an infield single, and Bell admits he was feeling it as he gave up two more ground-ball singles to load up the bases with just one out. At that moment, Bell needed to collect himself in order to keep Millikan’s season alive.
“I kind of just reset myself, and I took a deep breath when I got off the mound,” Bell explained. “I told myself some positive words, and I just got on the mound and trusted my defense 1,000 percent. My coach has been saying all season that our defense was going to get better, and it showed today.”
With one out and the bases loaded, Millikan played its infielders in, and a high chopper went to Nonato at first base. He quickly fielded and threw home for a bang-bang play, putting his throw right on target to an outstretched Gavin Reyes at home. The quick transfer and on-target throw barely beat the runner from third, giving the Rams their second out of the inning.
On the very next pitch, the Skyhawks batter sent a foul ball along the first base line, and Nonato was able to track it down and make a sliding catch into the fence surrounding the field. That elicited a scream from Bell on the mound and sent the Rams into a frenzy as they stranded the bases loaded.
“It feels awesome,” said Nonato on being able to contribute to the win with a few web gems. “It always starts in practice. My teammates are a huge part of my game. During practice, we work on stuff like that, and the fact that I’m able to come in and make a play like that just shows that I’m feeding off the energy off my teammates and they’re always pushing me to be better, and it just feels great.”
Nonato was also integral in Millikan’s only run of the day. His opposite-field single to lead off the 5th set the table for Wally’s game-winning single, as Crommie came in as a pinch-runner for Nonato at first base.
In the 7th inning, Bell opened the frame with a three-pitch strikeout, then Nonate made another ridiculous play. On a looper hit over his head into shallow right field, he retreated to the outfield grass, then made a sliding, over-the-shoulder basket catch for the second out of the inning, giving Bell yet another lift on the mound.
“If you’re gonna win these things, you’ve got to make plays,” Keester said. “Every time we needed a play, (Nonato) was there to make those plays. And without those things, this doesn’t happen. I think the five or six plays we had to have, we got them, and that’s why we were up one-nothing.”
Kennard led the offense with a pair of base hits, including a double, which was the only extra-base hit for either side.
Millikan will travel north for the CIF-SS semifinals on Tuesday, as they’re set to take on Agoura High on Tuesday afternoon. The Chargers were 4-1 winners over Fullerton in their quarterfinal matchup.
