League champion Patriots charge into second round

Having won the Sunbelt League championship for the first time ever, the Heritage High School baseball team will continue its postseason run Tuesday with a second-round game at Grand Terrace.

The Division 4 game will begin at 3:15 p.m. Grand Terrace is seeded No. 2 in the division and improved its record to 27-2 overall with a 1-0 win over Los Altos High of Hacienda Heights in the first round.

Heritage, now 19-7 overall, scored a 15-2 win over Alta Loma in the first round on Friday.

It has been a memorable season for the Patriots, who were 12-3 in league play en route to the championship.

"I want to say how proud I am of the boys for what they have been able to accomplish this season," said coach Scott Montgomery. "The road to this point has not been an easy one for them, and there have been many ups and downs along the way.

"As a coaching staff, we made sure they were challenged, not only physically but mentally and even spiritually at times where they had to learn to have faith and to trust in themselves and each other. The strength of our team lies in the brotherhood that they created during this journey.

"As a coach, it makes me proud to see the transformation of young men who are learning to put the team first above themselves and in doing so having a very successful season."

A solid pitching staff includes James Duran (5-3, 4.23 ERA), Jose Lopez (3-0, 1.80), Matthew Horton (2-3, 2.85), Brody Derrick (3-1, 1.83), Christopher Reyes (3-0, 1.85) and Guillermo Landeros (2-0, 5.14).

Leading hitters include Thomas Parker (.500, 29 RBIs), Lopez (.447, 27), Kenny Teter (.384, 12) and Bubba Baker (.376, 18).