Estancia baseball wins Halo Classic behind great Scott
ANAHEIM — The Estancia High baseball team was the away team for Monday afternoon’s Halo Classic game against rival Costa Mesa.
But the Eagles tend to feel right at home at Angel Stadium.
Estancia never trailed and earned a 4-3 victory in the showcase game, which did not count in the Orange Coast League standings.
Senior right-handed pitcher Trevor Scott improved to 6-0 for the winners. He pitched 5 1/3 strong innings, allowing no earned runs and seven hits, before sophomore left-hander Miles Moyer earned the save.
Not even a three-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic could keep Estancia from winning the Halo Classic. The Eagles, who won in dramatic fashion in 2019 in a hailstorm the last time the game was played, are now 4-0 all-time in the contest.
“Our guys take pride in that,” Eagles coach Nate Goellrich said. “We want to compete and win every game. But the experience is the most important part of this; the win is just the bonus.”
Estancia (13-2) also rebounded from a tough 11-0 road loss to the Mustangs on Friday in a league game. Scott was calm throughout — striking out nine and walking just one — even as his defense made three errors behind him.
Goellrich said Scott was expected to be more of a reliever this season, but has stepped up as the team’s No. 2 starting pitching option. He helped the Eagles to an 11-0 start to the season, before they lost two of their first three league games.
“Trevor threw great,” Goellrich said. “The nerves were there early, to be expected ... but he’s a gamer. He’s a senior that’s a part of our turnaround from playing some bad baseball over the last couple of years. We’ve got some senior leaders that want to turn this thing around. He’s stepped up for us greatly, and today was just another example.”
Estancia jumped out to the early lead on Costa Mesa (8-5). Jack Moyer walked and Scott singled to lead off the game, and both would end up scoring, with James De La O delivering an RBI knock.
The Mustangs scored a run in the bottom of the first, as Jordan Stucki’s single to center scored Michael Joyce. But Estancia added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning, taking a 4-1 advantage.
Andrew Coyotzi was hit by a pitch, and stole both second and third before scoring on Miles Moyer’s RBI single. Moyer would eventually score on a passed ball.
“It was great to play like this after what happened Friday,” Jack Moyer said. “Friday was not that good of a day, but today was a great day ... When we take things too serious, it makes us play bad, but when we’re having fun we’re playing our best.”
After Stucki singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth and Vaughn Eberly drew a one-out walk, Scott was done on the mound. The next batter for Costa Mesa, Sam Stute, roped his third hit of the game — a single to left — to load the bases.
Caleb Robeck followed with a comebacker to the new pitcher, Miles Moyer. He threw home for the force out, but the catcher’s throw to first base got away, and two runs scored. Robeck advanced all the way to third, but Moyer induced a groundout to get out of the jam.
Costa Mesa was set down in order in the bottom of the seventh.
Miles Moyer and Cole Lefebvre each had two hits for Estancia, while Stucki and Chris Hall each had a pair of hits for Mesa.
Both teams now return to Orange Coast League play this week. Costa Mesa plays at Orange on Tuesday, while Estancia is at Saddleback on Wednesday.
Santa Ana and Calvary Chapel share the league lead with a 3-1 mark entering the week, but Goellrich categorized league as a five-way race.
“Our guys took it rough Friday,” he said. “[Costa Mesa] took it to us. Some things got personal in that game, but our guys did a great job battling back, bouncing back quickly.”
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