Prep Baseball : Kelly Singles Mater Dei Past St. Paul in Eight, 4-3

Mike Kelly’s single with two out in the top of the eighth inning allowed the Mater Dei High School baseball team to open the Angelus League season with a 4-3 extra-inning victory against host St. Paul.

The Swordsmen enjoyed a 3-0 advantage when the Monarchs came to bat in the top of the seventh inning. Anthony Follico opened the Monarch rally with a single, and Ted Flores tripled to drive him home.

Mater Dei had the bases loaded with two outs after Kelly walked and Rich Albert was hit by a pitch. Kevin O’Connor then slugged a two-run single to tie the game, 3-3.

The Swordsmen were unable to score in the bottom of the seventh against Monarch starter Jon Hulshof, who earned his third victory of the season, allowing just three hits while recording five strikeouts.

Mater Dei (1-0, 5-0) scored the winning margin after Tony Gardea reached base in the top of the eighth on an error by the St. Paul third baseman. Kelly drove Gardea home for the margin of victory. St. Paul’s record is 0-1, 5-3.

In other Angelus League action:

Servite 8, Bishop Montgomery 5--Junior right-hander Jeff Larson (3-0) struck out six, walked one and allowed only two earned runs as the Friars won the league opener at Bishop Montgomery (0-1, 2-3). Servite (1-0, 4-3) enjoyed a big sixth inning when Chris Ulmer contributed a bases-loaded single and two RBIs. Jason Rolish went 3 for 4 on the day, and Doug Beuerlein added two RBIs.

In Sunset League play:

Edison 10, Westminster 4--The visiting Lions were ahead, 4-2, until Charger Pat Walker smashed a three-run double with two outs in the fifth inning, scoring Ron Chock, Greg Martin and Rick Justice. Martin hit a grand slam in the sixth, and middle reliever Lance Emma (4-0) took the victory for Edison (1-0, 8-3).

Marina 3, Huntington Beach 1--The Vikings trailed 1-0, but constructed a three-run rally in the top of the sixth to upset the Oilers at Huntington Beach.

With two out, Tom McNamara singled, David Emmons drew a walk and Steve Blokdyk doubled to score McNamara. An error by the Oilers allowed Greg Knuss to reach base, and a throwing error by the Oiler third baseman gave Emmons and Blokdyk the opportunity to score for the 3-1 victory. Reliever Rob Hanson was the winning pitcher for Marina (1-0, 4-2), entering the game in the bottom of the third inning and allowing just one hit, striking out five and walking two.

In nonleague action:

Gahr 16, Loara 1--The Gladiators clobbered the Saxons in the second round of the Palos Verdes Tournament. Gahr (8-1) had 16 hits, including Ron Hauczinger’s grand slam. Hauczinger also had a sacrifice fly and a two-run double. The winning pitcher was Gladiator Steve Zernola, who pitched the first three innings.

Jeff Peterson was the losing pitcher for Loara. Dale Kojac, who reached base on an error, scored the Saxons’ only run in the third inning.

Laguna Hills 4-4, Saddleback 3-3--The Hawks pulled out victories in both ends of the doubleheader in their last at-bat of each game at Laguna Hills. The first game went into eight innings after the Hawks came back from a 3-0 deficit with a run in the sixth and two in the seventh.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Dave Shetland of Laguna Hills (7-4) singled and scored the winning run on a two-out throwing error by Saddleback third baseman Albert Camacho. Steve Fesperman and Shetland had two hits each for the Hawks. Winning pitcher Wayne Helm (3-1) threw five innings of relief, struck out seven and allowed no runs.

Camacho led the Roadrunners with two hits and two RBIs. The pitching loss was charged to Steve Delgado.

In the second game, Laguna Hills’ Howard Gasser hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to bring the Hawks to within one run at 3-2. In the seventh, Dave Stevens produced the winning hit, a bases-loaded single which scored Chad Miller. Hawk reliever Jay Christensen (4-1) was the winner, and Myron Butler took the loss for Saddleback (1-6).

Los Alamitos 14-9, El Toro 9-2--Home runs by Ricky Nen and J.T. Snow, the sons of former professional athletes, helped boost the Griffins to a convincing win against the Chargers in the first game of the doubleheader at El Toro.

Nen, son of former Los Angeles Dodger infielder Dick Nen, hit a solo homer in the first inning, and Snow, son of former Los Angeles Ram football player Jack Snow, had a grand slam in the seventh inning. Travis Tarchione also had four RBIs.

El Toro’s Frank Appice, who is hitting .556, had three hits, as did Scott Shockey, who is averaging .533. Ryan Young had two hits and four RBIs.

The Griffins’ sealed their command of the second game with five runs in the top of the sixth. Robbie Katzaroff contributed three hits, and Nen had two hits and three RBIs.

Capo Valley Christian 7, San Clemente 5--Bobby Stephens had a successful day for Capo Valley Christian (4-1) with a two-out, three-run homer in the top of the seventh inning to win the game at San Clemente. He also had an RBI double and scored two runs.

The winning pitcher was starter James Padilla (2-0), who lasted six innings. Sophomore Daron Sutton, son of Oakland A’s pitcher Don Sutton, relieved Padilla in the seventh and earned the save.

Santa Ana 5-10, Kennedy 2-1--The Saints (5-1) were fueled by John Hefler’s two-run home run in the sixth inning of the opener at Brookhurst Park. Juan Moran (2-0) was the Saints’ winning pitcher in the first game, and John Schilling had two of the team’s 10 hits.

Schilling (2-0) threw five innings in the second game to become the winning pitcher. Hefler hit a three-run homer in the first inning and later doubled, while Schilling added two more hits. Armando Olivares had three hits and two RBIs as the Saints outhit the Fighting Irish, 15-6.

Mission Viejo 14-11, Villa Park 7-1--Bob Brucato was the hitting star of the first game and the pitching star of the second as the Diablos swept a doubleheader at Mission Viejo.

In the first game, Brucato went 4 for 5 with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBIs. Teammate David Hori added a two-run homer in the six-run second inning as the Diablos collected 10 hits on the game. Sean Campbell picked up his first win of the season.

In the second game, Brucato pitched five scoreless inning, allowing two hits and striking out four to improve his record to 3-0. Kyle Abbot pitched the last two innings, allowing two hits and a run. Ray Reinders hit two homers for the Diablos, a two-run shot in the first inning and a solo in the sixth. Mission Viejo had 13 hits in the second game, paced by Brendan Murphy (3 for 4 with two RBIs) and Robert D’Marino (2 for 3 with three RBIs).

On the day, Brucato went 5 for 9 with three doubles and four RBIs as Mission Viejo improved its record to 6-1.

Fountain Valley 4-7, Capo Valley 3-0--The Cougars passed up several chances to win the first game early, loading the bases in the first two innings, but managing to score just one run. The game went into eight innnings tied 3-3 before Fountain Valley (10-2) triumphed on Jim Wayne’s solo homer, his second of the game.

Baron pitcher Sam August lasted six innings but suffered control problems, walking 10. Reliever Keith Girom (1-0) came in with two men on base in the seventh inning, and eventually earned the victory. Brett August (1-1) gave up six hits and took the loss for Capistrano Valley (3-4).

The Barons seized control of the second game in the fifth inning, scoring four times for a 5-0 lead. Don Snowden had a solo homer in the game, and Jim Doyle went 3 for 4. Winning pitcher Steve Kaloper, a Fountain Valley junior, struck out seven, walked two, and gave up only four hits. Ricky Jones (2-1) was the Cougars’ losing pitcher.

Canyon 6-4, Corona 5--2--The Comanches raised their record to 6-0 by sweeping a doubleheader from the previously undefeated Panthers (4-2) at Canyon. In the first game, Canyon took a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, and held off Corona to win, despite being out-hit 15-9. Pitcher Mike Townley took the win.

In the second game, Leonard Damian came in for 3 innings of relief, raising his record to 4-0 while denying the Panthers a hit. Canyon had 10 hits to Corona’s 3, although the Comanches committed four errors to Corona’s two.

Canyon’s Pete Weber got a hit in each of his five at-bats in both games, including two triples and three RBIs. Mike Sliemers of Canyon was 4 for 6 and Steve Milledge was 4 for 8 for the day.

Buckley 19-6, Newport Christian 2-2--Both teams had 11 hits in the first game, but host Buckley (7-0-1) came up with a lot more runs to show for its efforts. Part of the problem for Newport Christian was walking 14 batters and committing five errors.

Robbie Morgan and Joe Alston had three hits each for Newport Christian. Morgan, who lasted 3 innings, was the losing pitcher.

Alston pitched the second game, which Newport Christian (0-4) led through the fourth inning, 2-1. But shaky defense allowed five Buckley runs--four of them unearned--to score in the bottom of the fifth for the margin of victory. Newport Christian’s Tom Bass doubled and homered.