Orange County Prep Baseball Roundup : Surico Shows He Merits the Attention : With Scouts Watching, He Pitches Tustin to Win Over Santa Ana

Several pairs of eyes and six radar guns were focused on the pitcher’s mound Tuesday at Santa Ana High School. Steve Surico was pitching for Tustin, and that meant a meeting of the local chapter of professional baseball scouts was called to order behind home plate.

It has become a familiar scene for Surico. The scouts have taken an interest in his left arm and the speed at which it throws baseballs past opposing hitters.

“He’s been followed around all year,” said Vince Brown, Tustin coach.

Scouts in attendance Tuesday clocked Surico’s fastball at between 80 and 85 miles per hour. But it was his curveball and offspeed pitches that enabled him to strike out 14 Santa Ana hitters and allow just three hits en route to a 6-2, Century League win.

The victory gave Tustin (10-1) a 3-0 start in league play, improved Surico’s record to 4-0 and left Santa Ana Coach Bill Ross impressed.

“He’s as good as there is right now,” Ross said. “The secret is whether they can win when he’s not pitching. That remains to be seen.”

Surico had a no-hitter in his last outing, a 7-0 win over Serra last Friday in Gardena. He struck out 11 in that game, and now has 64 strikeouts on the season.

He had only one rough inning against Santa Ana (1-2, 8-4). Four of the seven walks Surico allowed came in the fifth and accounted for the Saints’ first run. Beyond that, however, Surico allowed only an unearned run in the the seventh.

“He hasn’t really thrown his good stuff since the early part of the year,” Brown said. “But he’s starting to catch his groove now. This is one of the first times this year we’ve been able to jump out and give him a lead.”

The Tillers scored three runs in the top of the first inning, giving Surico a comfortable lead before he stepped onto the mound. Walt McMahon led off the game with a walk and went to third on a perfectly executed hit-and-run single by Matt Lundin. Surico supported himself with an RBI single to right for the game’s first run. Chris Floth singled to drive in another run, and Monte Roberts doubled down the left-field line to score Surico.

Santa Ana third baseman Jesus Chavarria made a diving, backhanded catch of a line drive by Mike Anderson to keep the Tillers from doing further damage.

Tustin scored three more runs in the fifth on a leadoff double by McMahon, Lundin’s booming triple to center--which signaled the end of the day for Saint starter Ray Lopez--and RBI singles by Floth and Rogers.

In other Century League action:

Foothill 6, El Modena 4--The Knights (3-0, 8-4) scored five runs in the top of the seventh to beat the Vanguards (2-1, 5-5). Foothill designated hitter Glenn Takabayashi hit a two-run home run to cut El Modena’s lead to 4-3. John McTaggart tied the game at 4-4 with a two-out single and the Knights went ahead on a two-run double by Mike Grahovoc. He had homered in the third for Foothill’s first run, and finished with three RBIs. Mike Pope (2-1) pitched the first six innings to get the win, and Grahovoc pitched the seventh for the save.

Villa Park 3, Orange 2--Craig Pollard doubled in the fifth inning, scoring Mark Johnson to give the Spartans (1-2, 4-13) a 3-0 lead. The Panthers (0-3, 4-9) scored in the sixth on a two-run home run by Jarrod Stringer. Pat Glynn homered in the third and Kevin Bates singled home Villa Park’s second run in the fourth. Jeff Komma (1-2) got the win.

Canyon 6, Snata Ana Valley 5 (9 innings)--Joe Furukawa rolled an infield single toward third to score Mike Sliemers who had singled, stole second, and gone to third on a dropped third strike, with the winning run in the top of the ninth for the Comanches (2-1, 7-5). Larry Houck (3-0) got the win. The Falcons (0-3, 4-10) scored four times in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score at 5-5.

In Sunset League action:

Fountain Valley 1, Edison 0--Pinch hitter Mark Maragram singled in Mark Williamson in the bottom of the sixth for the Barons (3-0-1, 10-2-1). Steve Kaloper (3-0) gave up three hits and struck out seven.

In Academy League action:

Newport Christian 7, Liberty Christian 2--Joe Alston (3-1) pitched a complete game, allowing two hits and striking out 14. Alston, a junior, has struck out 52 in 25 innings. Alston went 2 for 4 with with three runs scored. The Conquistadors (2-0, 3-2) scored three runs in the fifth inning sparked by Jeff Gweddale’s two-out, two-run single. Ron Jones went 3 for 4 with three RBIs. Liberty’s Brian Gilliam struck out 12 and allowed seven hits, but wasn’t helped by five errors. Four of Newport Christian’s runs were unearned. Liberty Christian is 0-2 in league, 0-3 overall.

In Olympic League action:

Capistrano Valley Christian 9, Ontario Christian 0--James Pidella (2-1) ran his scoreless innings streak to 14 with the shutout for the Eagles (1-2, 4-5). Jamie Hemuth was 2 for 3 with three runs scored and Jay Haythorne was 2 for 4, with an RBI for Capistrano Valley Christian. Brent Ward was 1 for 3 and drove in two with a bases-loaded double for the Eagles.