Long Beach~If only the season had a reset button.
But after Saturday's 12-1 defeat to Moore League power Long Beach Wilson, a couple years removed from the No. 1 ranking in the United States, the start of the Suburban League campaign Wednesday against visiting Norwalk is the next best thing to a do-over, from the poor individual statistics to the collective 3-6 record.
Wilson (6-2) parlayed a bases-empty, two-out rally into four first-inning runs and never looked back against the Matadores, who were playing their eighth contest against a Division I opponent. In the fourth frame, six of the 10 unearned runs all but finished it off.
Senior centerfielder Karl Perez, playing with the most vigor, continued to carry a hot bat, going 2-for-3 with a double and getting robbed on a line drive to center his first time up.
Senior secondbaseman Garrin Haile smacked mirror-image line drive singles to center, the first one in the second inning to bring in senior leftfielder Justin Torres (hit by pitch) for La Mirada's only run. Junior shortstop Andres Rodriguez dunked one into leftfield to get Torres into scoring position.
Senior firstbaseman Mike Piazza, in the throes of the biggest slump of his life, deserved better with a blast to Wilson's centerfield Death Valley, backing up the Bruin against the fence about 400-feet away before hauling it in.
Other than that, the Matadores showed little life once again offensively, managing just five hits.
Wednesday's league home opener against the Lancers begins at 3 p.m.
Go ahead and hit that red button.