Beuerlein Paces Servite Past Bishop Amat

Doug Beuerlein, Servite High School’s third baseman, hit a two-run single to cap a four-run rally in the seventh inning that lifted the Friars to a 5-4 victory over Bishop Amat Wednesday at Anaheim.

The victory kept alive the Friars’ faint playoff hopes by evening their record at 7-7 in the Angelus League and 10-10 overall. Bishop Amat, which has already clinched second place, fell to 9-5 in league play and 16-7 overall.

Bishop Amat starting pitcher Brian Kelly was breezing along with a two-hitter and had a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning when he experienced control problems. He walked Eric Buechele and Cory Wentz with one out in the inning, but recovered to strike out designated hitter David Noak for the second out.

The Friars followed with three consecutive hits to pull out a very unlikely win. Brian Criss’ infield single scored Buechele and then leadoff hitter Jay Spiedel smashed a double to deep center field that scored Wentz.

Relief pitcher Chris Deurieze replaced Kelly with runners at second and third and Beuerlein at the plate. He worked the count to 1-2 when Beuerlein lined a single to left that scored the tying and winning runs.

“I saw how deep their third baseman was playing and told him to think about a bunt,” said Tom Walbrun, Friar coach. “But as soon as I told Doug that, their third baseman moved up, so I told Doug to swing away.”

For five innings, the Friars looked incapable of scoring one run--much less scoring four--against Kelly. They had only an infield and didn’t get a runner to second base until the sixth when they scored a run on a bloop single by Chris Ulmer.

“It was a matter of concentration,” Walbrun said. “We went through the motions for five innings, then became a little more selective at the plate. We also got a big lift from Eric Matillo.”

Matillo replaced starter Ulmer with no outs and runners at second and third in the sixth inning. He got two quick outs as Lancer batters bounced out to second baseman Buechele with the runners holding, then got Mike Gorman to fly to center to end the threat. Matillo retired six of the seven batters he faced to gain the win.

In other Angelus League action:

Mater Dei 9, Pius X 1--The Monarchs got two home runs in the first inning--Anthony Follico’s three-run homer and Rich Albert’s solo shot--to get the win at Pius X. Mater Dei (13-1, 21-1) scored three runs in the fifth while the Warriors (0-14, 0-17) scored in the seventh. Mike McCarthy (4-0) was the winning pitcher.

FREEWAY LEAGUE Buena Park 3, Troy 0--Junior Rob Robinson (3-4) threw a two-hitter to lead the Coyotes to a win at home. Robinson threw his first complete game of the season, striking out one. Robinson’s performance went one better than Spartan pitcher Bill Greer, who allowed three hits.

Buena Park scored two unearned runs in the fourth when Troy first baseman dropped a two-out pop fly with runners on second and third. Tony Badal got a RBI single to finish the scoring.

Sonora 9, La Habra 3--The Raiders scored seven runs in the first inning to win and clinch a playoff spot. Playing at home, Sonora was led in the first inning by two-run singles by catcher Ron Lesperance and first baseman David Bird.

Pitcher Mike McClaren (6-3) struck out six and walked three on his way to the victory.

Fullerton 1, Sunny Hills 0--The Indians scored in the sixth inning when Marlon Melendez singled to right with two outs. That brought John Saltzman home from second. Saltzman knocked the ball out of Sunny Hills’ catcher Adrian Schicker’s glove to score. Erik Silvey was the winning pitcher, Paul Abbott (9-2), who had 10 strikeouts, took the loss. The Lancers (12-2, 19-5) have clinched the Freeway League title.

GARDEN GROVE LEAGUE La Quinta 3, Santiago 2--Aztec first base man Denny Spradlin, playing in his first game for almost a month, was 2 for 3 with all three La Quinta RBIs. It was Spradlin’s single in the fifth inning that broke a 2-2 tie.

Spradlin, who missed eight games because of a fractured hand, knocked in La Quinta’s first two runs with a first-inning single. Pitcher Steve Hunt (10-1) struck out eight and earned the win. The win gave La Quinta its first 20-win season since 1978.

Garden Grove 6, Los Amigos 4 (9 innings)--Keith Mowdy singled with runners on second and third to give the Argonauts the win at Los Amigos. It was Mowdy’s second hit of the game. Garden Grove collected 10 hits in the game and was also the recipient of seven Lobo errors.

Los Amigos led 4-1 going into the fifth, but committed three errors to allow Garden Grove to tie. Jeff Kanegae pitched 5 innings of relief to earn the win. He allowed two hits and struck out eight. The Lobos’ Mike Clodfelter was 2 for 4 with two RBIs.

Rancho Alamitos 10, Bolsa Grande 2--Pitcher Tom Tryon threw five innings to get his first win of the season and lead the Vaqueros to a win at home. Tryon also was 3 for 4 with a double and three RBIs.

Dalan Taylor hit a two-run home run inn the fifth inning to cap the scoring for Rancho Alamitos. Steve Jenkins was 2 for 4 with a double and three RBIs.

ACADEMY LEAGUE Heritage 11, California Lutheran 2--David Beeler went 2 for 4 with two doubles, scored three runs and drove in four to lead the Patriots (8-3-1, 11-6-1). Daren Beck (5-0) was the winning pitcher, with three walks and eight strikeouts.