How else do you explain a team that was beaten by 18 runs two days before sending La Mirada and its fans to Hell and back?  How do you explain the Matadores getting 21 hits Wednesday but only 22 total at-bats Friday, only six of them hits?  How do you explain a team that has now won 16 of its last 17 games and nine in a row struggling so mightily against 5-19 and 1-9 Cerritos?  How do you explain the Matadores' No. 2 through No. 4 hitters, which have been abnormally productive and consistent all season, going 0-for-8?

How do you explain junior shortstop Andres Rodriguez, the team's most respectful, mild-mannered and God-loving member of the team, getting ejected for throwing an elbow at his Dons counterpart?  How do you explain La Mirada seemingly winning it in the top of the seventh on a incredible play by senior rightfielder Jesse McHenry, who came up firing to firstbase to thwart a two-out, game-tying single only for the umpire to see an eerie, shadowy vision with a safe call?

And, maybe most of all, how do you explain the demon that has been residing in junior designated hitter Nicko Lancaster's lefthanded bat the past few weeks?  At the all-league meetings, there is little question that Cerritos will vote Lancaster as MVP, after he followed up four hits in four innings Wednesday with a game-, league- and perhaps season-saving two-run triple in the bottom of the sixth to give La Mirada its first lead of the game, 4-3.

Trailing, 3-2, senior firstbaseman Mike Piazza--who wasn't through yet making his mark--led off the rally with one of his patient-eye, full-count base on balls, followed by a mysterious infield bunt by junior thirdbaseman Nick Mata, who reached when the ultra gutsy Cerritos pitcher slipped on an invisible black hole.  An out later, it was Nicko Time, as the blossoming superstar zapped one down the rightfield line to score two to the delight--and restored breathing--of the La Mirada faithful.

But the Dons, who are to be saluted to the 5th Dimension for their courageous performance following Wednesday's nightmare, were not ready to be buried just yet.  A leadoff hit batsmen by 6-foot-3 senior Daniel Poncedeleon, who went the distance with a five-hitter, turned into a runner at third on two grounders deftly fielded by the Arizona-bound righthander, the first one a perfect sacrifice bunt.  If any pitcher in the Suburban League has fielded his positon better than Poncedeleon this year, then give that kid a scholarship, too, because QB1 has been phenomenal.

Cerritos' diminutive No. 2 hitter then pluckily lined a single to rightfield to make it 4-4, although McHenry's rifle to Piazza at first almost denied the young man his heroics.

After the warrior-like Cerritos pitcher got the first out of the seventh, he consecutively walked senior catcher Nick Mandry, senior leftfielder J.T. Torres and McHenry before Piazza creamed the first offering to leftcenter for a walk-off--and respirator-on--single to leftcenter to set off a beeline by his teammates to swarm him at first.

A three-run double in the top of the fourth off Poncedeleon put the Matadores into their semi-panic.   The very high expectations for this season since the players were in middle school could have been dramatically damaged with a second monumental upset loss in league after opening up with a 2-1 setback to visiting Norwalk.

But in yet another building block of maturity that this 15-senior, six-junior unit keeps adding on a daily basis, the Matadores put on their boots and back packs and "Donned" their Ghostbuster suits.

In the bottom of the fourth, Mandry and Torres drew opening walks and McHenry loaded the bases when his sacrifice bunt was thrown late to third.  However, three fly outs kept the momentum in Cerritos' dugout as the Matadores only managed to plate senior pinch-runner Cory Hightower on a one-out walk to senior secondbaseman Garrin Haile.

The following inning, Rodriguez and senior centerfield Karl Perez also walked to start things off but La Mirada once again came away with just one run on a bloop single to leftfield by Torres, who reached base all four trips to the plate.   Limiting the rally was a busted hit-and-run play that ended with Rodriguez in a pickle and then tossed for his flying elbow while being tagged.

"It was a great sign that we were able to pull this out even though everything seemed to be going wrong and going against us," assistant coach Jimmy Zurn said.

What might continue to be very wrong is Rodriguez's possible unavailability for the first Bellflower game, which only happens to be the Matadores' most important regular season game.   Ejections often carry a next-game penalty, although anyone in attendance would agree that a game-and-half penalty would be much harsher than the crime (actually a misdemeanor).  Stay tuned.

Senior Kyle Harper, in the midst of a calm day off after remaining unbeaten in league on the mound Wednesday, then was torn from his comfort zone.  No one--and we mean no one--plays more innings than Rodriguez, who toils to the end even during blowouts.  If on the rare occasion he doesn't hit late in a rout, Rodriguez is always reinserted at shortstop.

In short, being the backup shortstop on La Mirada is like being Brett Favre's backup--you don't play.  In actuality, coach Kim Brooks doesn't even HAVE a backup shortstop--unless you count Harper, who takes pre-game infield at that position when he's not pitching only to even out the numbers from a crowded thirdbase situation.  Harper then often moves over and starts at thirdbase.

The versatile Harper, who it is believed has played every position but centerfield at some point in his outstanding four-year La Mirada career,  did see some limited action at shortstop on coach Tom Zurn's vaunted Freshman team when this senior class was pups (21-5 and 12-0), but little, if any, since.

So, with the league championship on the line, how did Harper emerge from the boiling cauldron?

Perfectly.

On just the second batter after taking his new post, Harper drifted toward the bag to field a grounder as gracefully as his sister Brianna parted the waters in the Suburban League swim finals the day before at Splash, and gunned down the runner with his gifted right arm.  Harper, poetically, also ended the contest by handling a groundball effortlessly and taking it to the bag himself for a forceout.

Who you gonna call?  GHOSTBUSTERS--and Harper, and Lancaster, and Piazza.