"He had a good change-up and a good fastball, which made his change-up even more effective," said Willow Glen coach Bret Gladden. "Kids in this league are good fastball hitters, but the off speed stuff makes the fastball effective, and his change-up was outstanding."

Torres (3-1) was not overpowering, only striking out five Cardinals on the day, but he constantly kept the opposing batters off balance by mixing up his pitches well.

Mt. Pleasant was getting the bat on the ball and Gladden was pleased with the defensive effort of the Rams. "We made the plays when they put the ball in play," added the coach.

First baseman Steve Rebagliati made a nice diving catch of a line drive down the line for an important out.

Then, with two out in the seventh, a Mt. Pleasant hitter slashed a hard ground ball toward the hole between shortstop and third. Third baseman Tyler Smith cut off the hard grounder, which would have been a very tough play for the shortstop, and fired to first to get the final out and preserve the no-hitter.

The Rams got all the offense they needed in the second with two runs. Senior Justin Jeffrey and Torres drove in a run apiece to give Willow Glen a 2-0 lead.

The Mt. Hamilton Division schedule is set up this year so that teams play each other each week in a back-to-back home and home series. That meant that Mt. Pleasant had a chance to avenge its defeat when Willow Glen hosted the Cardinals later in the week.

It was a cold and wet afternoon with wind and drizzling rain that did not bode well for the Rams and senior Jason Ethridge (3-1), who was on the mound for Willow Glen. Ethridge gave up only three hits and four walks but was the victim of some sloppy play due to the elements in the 2-1 loss.

Mt. Pleasant got unearned runs in the second and third innings. In the second, Ethridge had the batter struck out for the third out of the inning but catcher's interference was called and the batter was awarded first base. He went to second on a passed ball and then scored on a base hit. In the third, Ethridge gave up a lead-off double. The runner went to third on a fielder's choice and scored on a wild pitch.

The Rams scored in the fourth. Torres belted a lead-off single and stole second. Ethridge came through with a solid single to drive in Torres and close the gap to 2-1. The Rams had runners at second and third later in the inning, but the runners died there as Willow Glen was unable to get the clutch hit.

"That's the story of our season," Gladden said. "We need to learn how to move runners along."

Willow Glen almost got the ball rolling in the third when John Gibilisco stroked a lead-off single. Smith followed with a sharp ground ball right at the shortstop, who quickly turned it into a 6-4-3 double-play.

The game was called after six innings due to the rain, so the Rams had to settle for the loss that evened their record at 1-1 in the Mt. Hamilton Division.

Willow Glen will continue league play this week. The Rams were to travel to Oak Grove on March 30 and will host the Eagles on April 1. Both games will begin at 3:30 p.m.