The Masters Academy Opens With Big Win Over City Of Life

The Masters Academy Eagles warmed the freezing crowd up with their intensity and aggression with a convincing 12-2 win over City of Life on Tuesday evening. The hosts of the Eagle Invitational got going early on offense to pull away for their first victory of the season.

“Coming back from District Championship last year it was good to come out with a win,” said Eagles catcher Cole Iturrioz. “We’re always getting better. We’re here to get better, we’re not here to slack off. As long as we are out here we might as well be working hard.”

Transitioning from starter Zac Williams to Damian Mercado to Caeser Berry, Iturrioz makes the pitchers feel comfortable and confident while on the mound. Iturrioz keeps his pitchers focused and purpose driven in the bullpen.

Early on, it looked like the Warriors would make it a game. In the first inning the leadoff batter for the Warriors started off with a single up the middle. He used his speed and aggressiveness to advance around the bases also scored in the inning.

“We’re very young right now. I have a 6th and a 7th grader playing short stop and second base,” said Warriors manager Chad Smith. “Keep your heads up, play baseball and we’ll have a great season.”

Zac Williams, who started for The Masters Academy, kept his composure on the mound in the first inning and made a huge comeback by shutting it down for the next three frames.

After taking a year off from baseball, Eagles left-handed leadoff hitter Jakobi Bonner is back and is on fire. Going 2-for-2 and scoring two runs for the Eagles, Bonner is on a mission for his team this season.

“We’re a really young team so I’m hoping that any success I had on the basketball court and any former success I had on the baseball field I can translate it to the young guys here,” Bonner said.

Freshman JJ Perez made his first career start for the Warriors.

“We could have done better in our defense, there were simple errors we could have had,” Perez said. “I hope for this season that we have more chemistry in the field and are able to communicate more.”

Pitching his first game of the season, Perez came up short for his first win but is hopeful for the rest of the season. Perez went 2-for-3 and scored one of the two runs for the Warriors.

Eagles Manager Matt Cleveland couldn’t be happier.

“The pitcher they threw is pretty good and I thought we had good approaches and swung the bat good tonight,” Cleveland said. “I tell my team ‘get better everyday, whether it’s at practice or at a game, today doesn’t help us, tomorrow is a new day, just win the day’.”

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