Prep Baseball : Fountain Valley Advances to Semifinals

The Fountain Valley High School baseball team advanced to the semifinals of the Loara Tournament with a 4-3 win against La Quinta Thursday.

The Barons extended their lead to 3-0 when Bob Sharpnack singled to drive in two runs in the third inning. Fountain Valley got its fourth run in the fifth inning when Jim Reach hit a double, and La Quinta committed a fielding error on a grounder by Sharpnack, allowing the eventual winning run to score.

Joe Dunn’s two-out, two-run triple helped La Quinta to rally in the top of the sixth. But the Aztecs failed to score in the seventh.

Sam August of Fountain Valley pitched six innings for the win, and reliever Don Snowden fended off the Aztecs in the seventh. Jim Doyle had three hits and Jeff Olson had two for the Barons, who improved their record to 5-1. Fountain Valley will play the winner of today’s game between Esperanza and Loara at Glover Stadium at 3 p.m.

In other Loara Tournament action:

Sunny Hills 6, Downey 5--A sacrifice fly by Russell Fredericks with the bases loaded and an RBI single by Rod Turner in the bottom of the ninth lifted the Lancers to a victory in the consolation quarterfinal game.

The Lancers scored three runs in the fourth inning to take a 3-1 advantage, but Downey came back with two runs in the sixth to send the game into extra innings. Both teams scored a run in the eighth, and the Vikings pulled ahead temporarily, 5-4, with another run in the top of the ninth.

Reliever Bryan Olynyk, who pitched 3 innings, took the win, Sunny Hills’ fifth straight since losing their season opener. The Lancers will face Ocean View for the consolation championship, at a time and site to be announced.

Ocean View 4, La Habra 2--The Seahawks (3-1) took a 2-0 lead on Tom Smythe’s first-inning triple, and increased it to 4-0 when La Habra walked home two runs home in the bottom of the sixth inning in the consolation quarterfinal game.

The Highlanders scored their only runs with two out in the top of the seventh. For Ocean View, junior Craig Anderson pitched the first five innings and allowed just three hits for his first win of the season.

Los Alamitos 5, Magnolia 4--Rick Nen, son of former Dodger infielder Dick Nen, had two hits and two RBIs to lead the Griffins (3-1). Reliever John Jacobs entered the game in the fourth inning, and earned the victory. Dave Van Winkle picked up his third save.

Although Magnolia’s Carlos Gonzales was the losing pitcher, he was also the Sentinels’ top hitter with a two-run homer in the third inning to tie the game at 3-3.

Western 3, John W. North 0--David Tellers (3-0) hurled a one-hitter and brother John Tellers had two hits, one RBI and scored two runs as the Pioneers improved their record to 3-1. David Tellers struck out eight and walked two.

Western scored twice in the second innning and again in the fifth. Jim Cure doubled in one run, and Paul Boucher drove in another.

In the Santa Ana-Newport-Mesa Tournament:

Santa Ana 12, Saddleback 0--Pitchers John Torres and Tim Nelson had big days on the mound and at the plate to lead the Saints (2-0) past the Roadrunners (1-3) in the semifinal game at Tewinkle Park in Costa Mesa.

Torres and Nelson combined to throw a three-hitter. They struck out six and walked none. Torres also went 3 for 4 with a home run and five RBIs. Nelson was 2 for 2 with an RBI and scored twice.

Costa Mesa 3, Santa Ana Valley 2--Nigel Stonehouse tripled to drive in Scott Anderson in the eighth inning of the consolation semifinal, as the Mustangs (1-3) earned their first win of the season. Costa Mesa’s scored its other runs on Matt Schafer’s two-run homer in the fifth.

Mustang pitcher Tom Kaiser threw seven innings, but reliever Dave Austin earned the win. Costa Mesa will play Estancia in the consolation final at 1 p.m. Saturday at Davis Field in Costa Mesa.

In the El Segundo Tournament:

Edison 13, Long Beach Wilson 4--The Chargers (5-2) scored seven runs in the fifth inning in the rout in Huntington Beach. Jeff Kent, Pat Walker and Greg Leavey hit home runs for Edison. Lance Emma (2-0) was the winning pitcher.

The Chargers will face El Toro in the consolation bracket of the Loara Tournament today.

In nonleague action:

Canyon 4, Esperanza 3--Comanche pitcher Leonard Damian earned his second victory of the season, throwing three innings of relief. Damian also contributed offensively with a triple and a single.

Canyon’s Kevin Taylor had three hits and scored the winning run.