San Diego Lions A Baseball : Escondido’s Spiker Helps Stop Lincoln Hitters, 6-4

Wednesday’s matchup between Escondido and Lincoln in the Lions/Mike Morrow Division A final promised to be a contest between hitting teams. Escondido, after all, had Andy Martin, who was 13 for 14 in tournament play. Lincoln had Keith Mitchell, with six home runs in four games.

But pitching made the difference Wednesday, as Escondido’s Arnie Spiker survived a rough third inning to lead the Cougars to the tournament title with a 6-4 win.

“My role on this team is mainly as a pitcher, so I’ve been rooting for everyone all the through the tournament,” Spiker said. “You get bored sitting on the bench. When I came out today, I was pumped. I was ready.”

Spiker and Lincoln’s Mitchell, the starting pitcher, both had early trouble. Mitchell yielded three runs on four consecutive singles in the second. Spiker allowed three runs in the third, including a two-run home run by Lincoln shortstop Anthony Johnson to tie the game, 3-3.

Spiker settled down to scatter four singles and an unearned run over the next four innings, but Mitchell and his successor, Charlton Lynch ran into more trouble.

Only some key defensive plays--such as Malcolm Glover’s difficult catch of Gary Larrabee’s drive down the first-base line with the bases loaded--kept Escondido from breaking the game open.

“I knew (Lincoln) had to be short of pitching,” said Bill Kutzner, Escondido coach. “(Spiker’s) only pitched two innings in the tournament. So, I knew if we were patient we’d get to them.”