El Toro Gets Three in 8th to Defeat the Hawks

For seven innings, Laguna Hills High School pitcher Wayne Helm limited El Toro to three hits, which is quite a feat when one considers the Chargers came into the game with a .340 team batting average.

The junior had struck out eight by relying on a lively fastball and had shut out one of Orange County’s best hitting teams. But the Hawks also failed to score and the teams went into extra innings locked in a scoreless tie.

That gave El Toro another chance at Helm, which it used to score three runs in the eighth inning as the Chargers gained a 3-0 victory Wednesday to move into sole possession of first place in the South Coast League. El Toro (6-2 in league, 14-8 overall) holds a one-game lead over Dana Hills in the seven-team league.

El Toro starter Nick Adams (4-2) survived a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh and then watched his teammates touch up Helm (8-2) for a bunt single, a double and another single coupled with Helm’s throwing error to gain the win.

The Hawks (4-3, 13-8) wasted several scoring opportunities and had the winning run picked off third base to end the seventh inning. Laguna Hills left 10 runners on base.

“We couldn’t get the big hit or the smart play,” said Jack Hodges, Laguna Hills coach. “We had people all over the bases and couldn’t score. It was unfortunate because Wayne pitched a great game.”

The Hawks were one errant pitch away from a victory in the seventh. Laguna Hills had loaded the bases with two outs when first baseman Howard Gasser worked a tiring Adams to a 2-2 count.

Adams’ next pitch skidded in the dirt and momentarily eluded Charger catcher Frank Appice. Pinch runner Ron Lebin dashed about 30 feet down the line, saw Appice quickly retrieve the wild pitch and then decided to head back to third.

Appice alertly fired the ball to third baseman Mike Gonzales who tagged out Lebin to end the inning. Adams escaped with one pitch--and a wild one at that--and then finished the game with a double play in the eighth to gain the victory.

“Adams kept us in there with a gutty performance and our defense played well behind us,” said Dan DeLeon, the Chargers’ coach. “This was an exciting high school baseball game that could have gone either way.”

Hodges had his players running wind sprints following the loss, but there were some encouraging signs. Catcher Steve Fesperman went 3 for 4, Helm added two hits to go along with his fine pitching and left fielder Chris Latham made an outstanding catch in the fifth inning to rob Brian Young of a potential double.

In other South Coast League action:

Capistrano Valley 10, Dana Hills 9 (8 innings)--Cougar Marcel Durand doubled with two outs in the top of the eighth to score Jeff Kelley and give Capistrano Valley (2-6) the win over first-place Dana Hills (5-3). Kelley had reached base on a two-base error by a Dolphin outfielder. Durand was 3 for 5 with a home run and four RBIs.

Irvine 16, San Clemente 1--The Vaqueros (5-3) scored in every inning but the second on their way to an easy win at San Clemente. Remy Rahmatulla went 4 for 4, including a double, and had two RBIs. Irvine’s Bobby Hamelin (1 for 5, four RBIs) and Buddy Mundt (2 for 2 with three RBIs) each hit home runs. San Clemente is 1-7 in league play.

FREEWAY LEAGUE

Troy 4, Sonora 0--Junior right-hander Steve Greer pitched a two-hitter and struck out six as the Warriors (6-4, 10-8) took over second place with a win over the Raiders (5-5, 10-9) at Sonora. Two of Troy’s runs were unearned, another scored on a walk and the final scored on Jeff Roaro-Jasso’s RBI triple.

Fullerton 8, Buena Park 1--John Melendez hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning to lead the Indians (3-7, 8-10) past the Coyotes (3-7, 4-12) at Buena Park. Paul Bunch hit a solo homer in the fourth for the Coyotes’ only run.

Sunny Hills 17, La Habra 3--Pat Fegel went 4 for 5 with three RBIs, and Rod Turner hit a three-run home run to pace the Lancers past the Highlanders at La Habra. Paul Abbott pitched six innings, allowing 4 hits and striking out 14, to improve his record to 8-1. First-place Sunny Hills improves to 10-0 and 17-3, while La Habra drops to 3-7 and 5-11.

GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE

La Quinta 3, Garden Grove 2--The Aztecs (9-1, 16-2) scored twice in the top of the sixth inning to come from behind and defeat the Argonauts at Garden Grove. Mark Dion and Trung Nguyen each singled, winning pitcher Steve Hunt hit an RBI double and Jim Ingram added a sacrifice fly for the winning run. Alex Alvarez and Donnie Lockman each had two hits for Garden Grove (6-4, 8-9).

Los Amigos 9, Rancho Alamitos 2--Joe Jagolowski went the distance on a five-hitter and struck out seven as the Lobos beat the Vaqueros at Los Amigos. Ralph Ramirez’s two-run homer in the first inning was his sixth of the season, while Jeff Houck went 3 for 4 with two RBIs for the Lobos (4-6, 8-10). Rancho Alamitos drops to 0-10 and 2-16.

Bolsa Grande 11, Santiago 5--Robbie Walker hit an RBI triple in the third inning, an RBI single in the fifth and pitched a complete game to lead the Matadors to a win over the Cavaliers at Santiago. Bolsa Grande is 6-4 and 8-11, while Santiago is 5-5 and 8-9.

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

University 8, Newport Harbor 2--The Trojans (7-2, 7-8) scored four runs in the second inning and three in the fifth to move into sole possession of first place. Winning pitcher Mark Stride (6-0) struck out eight and now has 61 strikeouts in 42 innings. Mark Favorite, Roger Wilson and Jeff Baker each had two RBIs for the Trojans.

Woodbridge 5, Saddleback 4--Warrior Mike Eckland’s two-run double with one out in the seventh inning capped a four-run rally to lead Woodbridge to the win at Irvine. Randy Albright had singled earlier in the inning to drive in two runs. Woodbridge and Saddleback are both 4-5 in league.

Laguna Beach 9, Costa Mesa 2--The Mustangs blew an opportunity to move into a third-place tie with Newport Harbor by losing to the Artists at Laguna Beach. Costa Mesa drops to 4-5 in league (8-12 overall), while the Artists improve to 3-6 and 5-13.

Corona del Mar at Estancia--The game was postponed because there were no umpires. It will be replayed Monday at Estancia at 3 p.m.

ANGELUS LEAGUE

Mater Dei 6, Bishop Montgomery 0--Monarch pitcher Jon Hulshof struck out 10 en route to his ninth win of the season. Hulshof has now struck out 62 batters in 57 innings. Mater Dei (9-1, 17-1) scored four runs in the fourth inning, two on a single by Tony Gardea. Ted Flores was 2 for 3 with a double.

Servite 20, Pius X 1--The Friars hit five home runs, including a grand slam by Jay Speidel, three-run blasts by Jason Rolish and Chris Ulmer, a two-run shot by Corey Wentz and a solo homer by Tim Rosenkranz, in their easy win over the Warriors at Pius X. Speidel, Rolish and Wentz each knocked in four runs for Servite (5-5, 8-8).

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Loara 10, Kennedy 1--The Saxons (4-5, 1-10) scored four runs in the fifth inning, two on a single by Joe Ferrentino. Pitcher Jeff Patterson (4-3) threw a complete game, striking out three. Rich Bravo went 3 for 4 with two RBIs.

SUNSET LEAGUE

Edison 5, Marina 4--Winning pitcher Jeff Kent (4-0) hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to give the Chargers a come from behind win. Marina (5-5) had taken the lead in the seventh when Mike Blokdyke broke a 4-4 tie with a solo homer. Edison (6-4, 15-7) tied the score with three runs in the sixth, two coming on Pat Walker’s single.