Prep Baseball : Katella Rallies in Sixth to Remain Unbeaten in Empire

A four-run rally in the sixth inning Wednesday helped Katella High School remain unbeaten in the Empire League and gain its 11th win in its last 12 games with a 6-5 victory over Los Alamitos on Blair Field at Long Beach.

The Knights, 5-0 in league play and 11-3 overall, collected 12 hits as all but one starter earned at least one hit. Third baseman Osmar DeChavez, the ninth hitter in the order, got the the biggest hit of all with a line single to center that scored two runs in the sixth.

Los Alamitos was clinging to a 3-2 lead behind starter Randy Hacker (2-2) when the Knights broke the game open with four runs. DeChavez tagged a 3-2 pitch for a two-run single for a 5-3 lead and then Knight center fielder Todd Lloyd drove home DeChavez with a single that proved to be the winning run.

Reliever Chris Doll saved the win for Knight starter Jerry George (6-1) by retiring two batters with the tying run on second base in the sixth inning and then setting the side down in order in the seventh.

The Knight’s hitting and Doll’s fine relief work added up to another impressive victory for a team that opened the 1985 season with two consecutive losses and a quick exit from the Loara Tournament.

Los Alamitos (3-2, 12-5 overall) had its third straight loss but the Griffins showed they are one of the county’s best teams.

Leadoff hitter Robbie Katzaroff had two hits, scored twice, made a diving catch in center field and stole a base. He leads the county with 33 hits, and has 16 stolen bases. First baseman Rick Nen had a single and a triple and also made a fine play in the field.

But the Griffins also managed to kill two scoring opportunities with some poor base running as Brooks Peters was thrown out at the plate in the second inning and Nen was thrown out at third base in the fourth following an infield hit. The Griffins also made a critical error in the sixth that kept Katella’s rally alive.

“You’ve got to give Los Alamitos some credit, they have some good players,” said Tim McMenamin, Katella coach. “I thought the bottom of our order came through and did the job today. DeChavez got the big hit and Doll did a good job of shutting them down in the end.”

Mike Gibson, Los Alamitos coach, had nothing but praise for Katella.

“They’re the team to beat in our league and as good as anybody we’ve seen,” Gibson said. “If we didn’t botch that play at second in the sixth, we would have been on the bus with a victory. But Katella deserved to win.”

In other league action:

El Dorado 2, Pacifica 1--Steve Wholley homered in the first inning and the Golden Hawks added a second run on an error in the second inning to defeat the Mariners at El Dorado High for their first league win.

Rob Sporrer, who allowed five hits in five innings, earned the victory, and Dave Rice got the save. Toby Christopher, who pitched a complete-game, five-hitter for Pacifica, took the loss.

Shawn Blankenship scored El Dorado’s run in the second inning when Mariner right fielder Pat Crupi misplayed Doug Sipple’s single.

Loara 5, Cypress 3--Tim Hopper pitched a complete-game, eight-hitter and struck out eight to help the Saxons defeat the Centurions at Loara. The Saxons broke the game open with four runs in the second inning, which was highlighted by Carlos Vargas’ two-run double and Ray Odegard’s RBI double.

Brian Roberts added two hits, including an RBI double in the fifth inning for the Saxons, who improve to 2-2 in league and 8-6 overall. Eric Krivashei had two hits for Cypress, which falls to 3-2 in league.

Esperanza 4, Kennedy 3--Greg Yarber’s RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth inning tied the game, and Yarber scored the winning run on Ron McMillian’s bloop single to right field, as the Aztecs improved to 3-2 in league, Kennedy is 0-4.