Breakers suffer walk-off loss
The Laguna Beach baseball team took a one-run lead against host Costa Mesa into the bottom of the seventh inning in Tuesday’s Orange Coast League game, but that was before Jesse Fox hit a walk-off, three-run home run to lift the Mustangs to an 7-5 victory.
The loss dropped Laguna to 5-6 in league and 14-13 overall.
The win clinched a CIF playoff berth for the Mustangs, who improved to 8-3 in league.
Laguna led, 2-0, after one inning and broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the fourth on Chris Paul’s home run. But the Breakers trailed, 4-3, through four innings, yet scored single runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to regain the lead at 5-4.
Paul also had a double in Laguna’s 11-hit attack. Junior Casey Miller (5-3) took the loss in a complete-game effort.
The Breakers and Mustangs met again Thursday in a regular-season and league finale. The score wasn’t available at press time.
JV Baseball
Laguna Beach, playing some of its most fundamentally sound baseball of its successful season, clinched its third straight league championship Tuesday after posting a 10-0 mercy-rule victory against visiting Costa Mesa.
The Breakers got off to an early lead against the Mustangs and never looked back. A balanced offense saw designated hitter Blake Hester and center fielder Santi Pierini each go three for four. Third baseman Travis Clawson went two for two with an RBI-generated sacrifice fly, second baseman C.J. Rodriques went two for four with two runs batted in and right fielder Eli Cassard went two for three with one RBI.
Left-handed pitcher Alex LeBon turned in another strong performance, perhaps saving his best for last. LeBon kept the Mustangs off-balance all day with a steady mix of fastballs, curves and change-ups and allowed only three hits in five innings, to go along with six strikeouts and a walk. For his efforts, Coach Michael Bair awarded LeBon the game ball.
With the win, LeBon finished the season 7-0 with one save and lowered his ERA to 1.00.
Laguna improved to 9-2 in league and 16-2 overall. The Breakers and Mustangs met one final time Thursday but the score wasn’t available at press time.
JV Softball
The Laguna Beach softball Team finished its 2010 season with an undefeated 6-0 Division V League record Monday after shutting out host Costa Mesa, 13-0. The Breakers again combined a strong offensive performance with sharp fielding and pitching to overpower the Mustangs and improve to 12-5 overall.
Taylor Weiss led the Laguna attack, going three for three with five RBIs. In the top of the third inning, Shannon Adams doubled to center field to drive in two runs. In the fourth inning, Karinna Reiss roped a triple down the third-base line and then scored on Cory Kent’s single.
Starter Haley Putnam threw five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts, scattered three singles, hit a batter and didn’t allow a walk.
Laguna plays its final game of their season at 3:15 p.m. today against Oxford Academy of Cypress. The nonleague game will be played at El Morro Field.