Late rally keeps Laguna perfect
Two games in two days to start the week didn’t affect the Laguna Beach baseball team.
The Breakers won both outings, defeating visiting Godinez, 17-7, on Monday and came back Tuesday to pull out a 5-2 win at Costa Mesa.
The two wins puts fifth-ranked Laguna at 4-0 in league and 11-0 overall as the Breakers continued the best start to a season in program history.
In Monday’s win over Godinez, Jackson Rees picked up his fourth win, Chris Paul hit a grand slam and Jake Herbert and Larry Stewart each doubled twice, with Herbert driving in five runs.
Against Costa Mesa Tuesday, Laguna trailed, 2-1, heading into the seventh and was on the verge of suffering its first defeat. But with two out, Eric Peruzzi singled through the gap between third base and shortstop to ignite a rally. Steven Harrison stepped up next and delivered a big blow, a two-run home run that gave the Breakers a 3-2 lead.
They scored two more runs in the frame to increase the lead to 5-2.
“This was a great, road come-from-behind win,” Laguna Coach Jeff Sears said.
Peruzzi, who Sears said “continued his hot hitting,” had three hits. Harrison also had three hits and Stewart doubled twice. Paul pitched all seven innings to earn his fourth win of the year.
Sears said his team’s success is because of preparation.
“It’s come from hard work, hard work in the weight room and on the practice field,” he said.
Laguna will compete in the coming week at the Anaheim Lions Tournament, an event that Sears said has more than 50 teams competing. The Breakers play a tournament doubleheader Saturday at Boysen Park in Anaheim. They’ll open against Ramona at 10 a.m. and play Peninsula at 1 p.m.
Guaranteed five games in the event, Laguna plays Monday at Pacifica and Tuesday at Sunny Hills. Both games begin at 3 p.m.
“It’s always tough to come out of league and play a nonleague or tournament doubleheader,” Sears said. “Our guys will play five games in a six-day period. That’s a lot of games in a short span for high school players.”
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Softball
Laguna used team balance Tuesday to score a 10-3 nonleague victory over host Santa Ana Valley.
Five Breakers drove in runs as Laguna ran its record to 5-2. Catcher Kennedi Gherardini had two runs batted in, Katie Anderson had a pair of triples and scored twice, Corey Kent was two for three with a triple and Jordan Hartman, Karinna Reiss and Veronica Clancy each had an RBI.
Haley Putnam struck out 13 and gave up one earned run for the Breakers, whose March 24 nonleague game against University in Irvine was canceled because of weather conditions.