The562’s baseball coverage in 2025 is sponsored by the Millikan, Long Beach Poly, and Lakewood baseball boosters.
The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The Millikan baseball team has talent from top to bottom through their lineup that has them undefeated to start in Moore League play, but they’ve believed that an even greater breakthrough is on the horizon.
That breakthrough came on Thursday afternoon at Lakewood, when the Rams totaled 18 hits while giving up only a pair in what was their most complete game of the season. Millikan shut the Lancers out handily, winning 15-0.
“The intensity might’ve been a little bit different knowing that we have not been who we expect ourselves to be,” said Millikan coach Ron Keester. “So we’ve practiced the last couple of days and had a lot of heart to heart talks that this is what we need to do. If we’re able to stay consistent then we can do some good things.”
As a team, Millikan hit .450 on Thursday afternoon and had 14 total RBI. The Rams had nine different players record a hit and never gave up a strikeout through all seven innings.
“The energy was great. It was kind of just like a party, a hit parade,” said Millikan five-hole Ben Keisler. “It feels good. We’ve been working on it. Instead of just taking [batting practices] we’ve been taking curveballs outside and just working on the fundamentals so it’s good to see that it’s actually showing in game.”
Keisler went 5/5 at the plate with two RBI and three runs, one of those runs coming on an inside-of-the-park home run in the second inning.
Shane Wally went ⅗ for the Rams in the six-spot, racking up three RBI and three runs, while Noa Morales went ⅔ and Andrew Perez went 3/6 with a pair of runs each. Connor Patton also chipped in going ⅓ with two RBI and a run, and Anthony Pack went ¼ with two RBI and three runs.
“Our expectations offensively I think we raised today,” said Keester. “With [Keisler], Perez, Patton, and Pack, if they go we go, and today all four of them went and it was a really good day for us.”
Pitchers Owen Waytas and Thomas Ramsey contributed to a complete game shutout for the Rams, who allowed just two hits while walking just one batter. Waytas racked up five strikeouts through the first five innings while Ramsey closed out with four.
“Starting off I got a lot of confidence with the offense scoring runs which puts you in a good place,” Waytas credited. “It’s always easy pitching with my defense who helped save me a couple of times just diving and making plays everywhere. Defense wins games.”
“He’s a really good pitcher,” added Keester of Waytas. “He closed a lot of our games last year and this year he’s starting. He’s a three pitch guy, throws strikes, controls the game and he’s really good. We’re really happy to have him.”
The win keeps Millikan undefeated in the Moore League with a record of 5-0. The Rams will face off against Wilson on Thursday in a matchup of unbeaten teams.
For Lakewood, the Lancers will continue their league plan on Wednesday against Cabrillo. Lakewood still sits in third place in the Moore League just a spot ahead of Long Beach Poly.
