Empire League : Los Al’s Victory Is Historic

Los Alamitos High School baseball Coach Mike Gibson didn’t know it, but his Griffins made a little history Friday by beating Pacifica, 3-2.

Gibson wasn’t alone in nearly overlooking the minor milestone. Pacifica Coach Bob Von Eps was also unaware that the Mariners had just lost their first baseball game to Los Alamitos.

Von Eps would have remained oblivious, but Gibson’s gleeful assistants wasted no time in spreading the word after the game. In the four years since Pacifica joined the Empire League, the Mariners had beaten the Griffins all six times they met.

It was symbolic that Los Alamitos should finally get to Pacifica this season, when Empire League results are lending new credence to the claim that, in baseball, anybody can beat anybody on a given day.

Just about the only exception to that trend is Katella, which leads the league at 4-0. Los Alamitos (11-2 overall) is tied with Cypress at 3-1. Pacifica (2-6) falls into a tie for third with Esperanza at 2-2.

Friday’s Loara-Kennedy game, which could have moved Loara (1-2) into a three-way tie for third, was postponed due to a scheduling conflict at Brookhurst Park.

Gibson and Von Eps are two of the league’s four new varsity baseball coaches, but their teams performed like well-schooled veteran units Friday. Both played sharp defense in a stiff breeze, making several fine fielding plays and committing just one error apiece.

The only thing that set the teams apart was bases on balls. Los Alamitos received the benefit of six walks from Mariner pitcher Toby Christopher (1-3), and turned them into weapons, as two of the three baserunners to score reached base with walks.

“That’s what always seems to haunt us, the walks,” Von Eps said.

Although Los Alamitos pitcher Randy Hacker (2-1) only struck out three Mariners and gave up nine hits, the crucial stat was that he issued just one walk in seven innings.

Gibson commended Christopher’s efforts, despite the junior left-hander’s control problem. He pointed out that Pacifica’s pitcher did manage to hold the Griffins 10 runs under their 13-run average of the past two league games. Los Alamitos scored a total of 27 runs versus Cypress and Kennedy.

The first batter of the game for Pacifica, Bobby Long, came around to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead after reaching base on Hacker’s only walk. Long stole second, and scored on Greg Tupa’s single.

Los Alamitos scored all of its runs on two-out rallies, the first of which occured in the third inning after Christopher had lured Mark Wolfe into a strikeout and Robbie Katzaroff into a ground out.

He walked the next two batters, J.T. Snow and Travis Tarchione, and Rick Nen doubled to drive in Snow, tying the game at 1-1. Christopher loaded the bases by walking Gary Renko, and finally resorted to using his glove to secure the third out on a grounder by Gary Loe.

The Griffins appeared to be gathering momentum in the fifth when Snow walked and Tarchione moved him to third with a towering double. But Christopher again relied on his glove, somehow catching line drives by Nen and Renko to retire the side.

Pacifica pulled ahead 2-1 with a two-out surge of its own in the fifth. John Fettig, who had two hits Friday, singled sharply to left, advanced on Long’s single through the hole on the right side of the infield, and scored on a double to right by Tony De Rosa.

With two out in the top of the sixth, Christopher walked Mike Wilkins and Wolfe got a base hit up the middle. Katzaroff hit a bloop single behind third base, scoring Wilkins, and Snow followed up with an RBI single to left, scoring pinch-runner Brett Soldano. The Griffins led 3-2.

In the bottom of the inning, Wilkins, the Griffin shortstop, thwarted any Mariner insurgency schemes with two excellent plays deep in the hole on potential hits by Dave Brodt and Mike Arringdale.

Fettig singled during Pacifica’s final at-bat, but otherwise, the Mariners went down without a struggle.

Gibson said six of his nine starters are underclassmen.

“I’ve got a junior outfield, a junior pitcher and catcher, and a sophomore at second base,” he said. “I really thought next year would be our year, but we’re a year ahead of where I thought we’d be.”

In other Empire League action:

Katella 8, Esperanza 0--Chris Doll no-hit the Aztecs for 6 innings and led the Knights to an easy win at Boysen Park. Doll, a senior right-hander, struck out six and walked three as the Knights improved their league record to 4-0. Steve Bennett had a three-run triple for Katella and John Paboogian, Mike Connolly and Phil Axtell each added two hits.