Prep baseball: Eagles down, but not out

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - In five innings the Estancia High baseball team lost

its fifth Pacific Coast League game, 13-3, to visiting University Friday.

Yet, the Eagles’ overall attitude is not as low as their position in the

standings after the first round of league play.

“Offensively, I feel fine with (our performance),” Estancia Coach Doug

Deats said. “I was just disappointed with our defense (which committed

seven errors). The overall team effort was there.”

In the Eagles’ last 12 innings, they have left 18 runners on base.

Against Uni, they smacked eight hits, leaving seven runners stranded.

Senior Brent Davis finished 2 for 3 with an RBI double for Estancia

(3-8, 0-5 in league), while juniors J.B. Goff and Casey Gates also went 2

for 3. Gates and senior Armando Ortiz each had an RBI.

“There’s confidence (among the players),” Ortiz said. “It’s just the

little things that make us fall apart. It’s tough, but we’ve got to get a

win. We’ll get a win. Hopefully, it will be against Costa Mesa Tuesday.”

The Trojans (6-4-1, 3-1-1) scored three runs in the first, third and

fourth innings and set up the mercy-rule win with four runs in the fifth.

Estancia junior Paul Flori, a right-handed pitcher, went three innings

and Ortiz, who also played shortstop, relieved him in the fourth when the

Eagles were down, 8-2.

“Both guys did a good job,” Deats said of the pitchers’ efforts. “(The

Trojans) are just a good- hitting team. And if you give up errors,

they’re going to make you pay for it.”

Said Flori, “We’ve just got to come out and compete. We need to make

plays. We’re not competing.”

In the third inning, after Goff singled and Ortiz walked, Davis

pounded a double that hit the centerfield fence. Goff scored and Ortiz

tried to beat the throw at the plate, but the umpire ruled him out. Deats

challenged the call, saying Ortiz slid underneath the tag, but it was to

no avail.

With Davis on second base, Flori walked, and junior A.J. Perkins was

hit by a pitch to load the bases. But the inning ended when Uni first

baseman Zach Sherwood stretched his glove over his head and snagged Andy

Romo’s line drive.

The Eagles’ game with Costa Mesa on Tuesday will be at TeWinkle Park

in a 7 o’clock encounter.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

University 13, Estancia 3

University 303 34 - 13 12 0

Estancia 101 10 - 3 8 7 Gomez, Sherwood (5) and Sagud; Flori, Ortiz (4) and Davis, Lund (4). W

- Gomez, 1-0. L - Flori, 0-2. 2B - Nichols (U), Lobue (U), Chaney (U),

Horner (U), Conlin (U), Stone (U), Davis (E). 3B - Lobue (U). HR - Stone

(U).