There’s no pain for Kane

GARDEN GROVE ? Once Kane Curran got on the mound again for the first time since suffering an arm injury, he didn’t want to come off.

Curran took a month and a half off from pitching because of tendinitis in his right arm. But after testing his arm in a scrimmage game March 1, he pronounced himself ready to go.

The senior right-hander put any fears about his arm’s readiness to rest Tuesday, when he hurled a six-hitter as the Estancia High baseball team defeated Garden Grove Santiago, 11-3, in the third round of the Newport Elks Tournament.

Three games into the season, Estancia (2-1) has half as many wins as it did all of last year.

“It feels good to be back on the mound, I’ve been waiting for this,” Curran said. “Plus, we got a win for a change, which makes it that much better.”

If Curran becomes a consistently effective starting pitcher to complement senior ace Evan Van Geem, winning could become a habit for the Eagles.

“Having Kane healthy and pitching like he did today helps a lot,” Van Geem said. “If I don’t have to pitch so much, it’s good for my arm.”

Despite pitching in his first game, there was no easing into things. Curran refused to come out of the game, even when the Eagles held a big lead in the late innings.

“He went too many innings and threw too many pitches,” Estancia Coach C.K. Green said. “But I couldn’t take him out. He never wants to come out. A month ago, he couldn’t even throw the ball. He’s just a gamer.”

Curran had plenty of support from the Estancia offense, which exploded for 13 hits a day after being held to two hits against Whittier Christian.

Van Geem led the charge by going 4 for 5 with a home run

“Van Geem has been hitting the ball hard all season,” Green said.

Trevor McDonald went 2 for 3 with a walk. McDonald, who scored four times for the Eagles, had a second inning triple that plated Taylor McClanahan.

With two outs in the top of the first inning, Van Geem singled, stole second and scored on Mike McDaniels’ line drive single to right field.

Van Geem led off the top of the sixth inning with a solo home run. His long line drive to the right-center field gap rolled past Santiago’s outfielders and Van Geem sped home well ahead of the throw.

McDaniels and Eddie Tomesak also had two hits. Curran reached base four times, going 1 for 2 with three walks.