Orange County Prep Baseball : Santiago Closing In on League Lead With Surprising 3-2 Win

The Garden Grove League baseball race tightened as Santiago High School surprised Garden Grove, 3-2, Wednesday at Santiago.

Santiago (4-2, 9-5) is now only a game behind the league-leading Argonauts.

The Argonauts (5-1, 8-4) ran into a tough pitcher, Cavalier senior right-hander Tim Reynolds (3-1), who allowed only three hits and went seven strong innings.

“My curve was working really well and I could see I was confusing the Garden Grove hitters,” Reynolds said. “After the fourth inning, I got into a groove and never got in much trouble.”

Garden Grove jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, but Santiago center fielder Anthony Candelas took care of that. In the bottom of the second Candelas hit a Mark Kiefer fastball 400 feet into the adjacent diamond in left field for a home run, tying the score, 1-1.

Santiago scored two more in the fourth as first baseman Rick Burns hit a bloop single to right field scoring Candelas from second and catcher Joe Marquez from third. Both had previously singled to right field.

Myron Pines, head coach of the Cavaliers, was pleased with the win, but knows he still has to catch the Argonauts.

“Garden Grove has the most talented team and the best chance of winning this conference,” Pines said. “This win today was a total team effort, but the big test will be Friday when we meet again at Garden Grove.”

Garden Grove scored its second run in the fifth when shortstop Donnie Lockman hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field scoring first baseman Jeff Kanagae. Lockman was 1 for 3 and scored a run.

Candelas was 2 for 3 for the Cavaliers, scoring a run and driving in a run.

Jim Rawls, Argonaut coach, said, “It wasn’t our day. But this sure makes the race interesting.”

In other Garden Grove League action:

Bolsa Grande 3, Los Amigos 0--Mike Valdez (3-1) pitched a two-hitter and struck out seven for the Matadors (4-2, 7-6) at Bolsa Grande. The Matadors, tied for second with Santiago, scored twice in the first inning as catcher Robbie Walker (2 for 3) doubled with the bases loaded to drive in two. He drove in a third run in the sixth. Valdez, whose ERA is 0.70, has gone 14 innings without giving up an earned run. Left fielder Mike Eicherly of Los Amigos (0-6, 2-11) tripled in the fifth inning. The loser was Joe Jagloski (1-2), who pitched well and gave up only three hits.

Rancho Alamitos 6, La Quinta 1--Roger Carter had three hits, including two doubles, and three RBIs at Rancho Alamitos (3-3, 7-7-1). Vaquero Craig Paquette had two hits and three RBI and Dalan Taylor tripled and singled. Winning pitcher Pat Davis (3-1) gave up five hits. The loser was Mike Wilson of La Quinta (2-4).

In Orange League action:

Western 15, Magnolia 4--David Tellers was the winning pitcher (6-1) for the Pioneers (6-0, 14-3) at Glover Stadium. He allowed one hit in his five innings and contributed a two-run home run during a five-run third inning for Western. Mark Tranberg also hit a three-run homer. Pioneer David Brown had three hits--two doubles and a single. Tom Woodburn (1-1) was the loser for Magnolia (2-4, 6-8).

Brea-Olinda 4, Anaheim 3--The Wildcats’ Jim Murray went 3 for 3 with a double and 2 RBIs at Brea (2-4, 5-8). David Kain scored what proved to be the winning run on Greg Quiring’s fifth-inning base hit. Anaheim is 1-5.

Valencia 8, Savanna 3--Andy Ruscitto led the Tigers at Valencia with his fifth home run of the year. Tim Churchill doubled with the bases loaded in the sixth to give Valencia a 5-3 lead. Mike Edwards followed that with a three-run homer. Valenica is 4-2, 8-4; Savanna is 3-3.

In Sea View League action:

Saddleback 13, Newport Harbor 4--The Roadrunners’ Danny Ontiveros went 4 for 5 including a grand slam to break a 4-4 tie in the sixth inning. Ontiveros, who finished with three hits and six RBIs, has had nine hits in his last 13 at-bats. For the Roadrunners (4-1, 8-8), Victor Rossano went 3 for 4 and scored twice, Jeff Rowe had two hits and Frank Larriva went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Rowe (5-2) was the winning pitcher. The Sailors (1-4) were led by Tony Wren, who went 2 for 3 and scored twice. John Mahone pitched 5 innings and was charged with the loss.

Corona del Mar 7, Woodbridge 0--Robert Hess pitched a one-hitter for the host Sea Kings. Craig Nixon was 4 for 4 with a homer and 2 RBIs and Andy MacMillan was 3 for 3.

University 6, Costa Mesa 3--The victory allowed the Trojans (4-1, 6-6) to stay tied for first place in the league race with Saddleback. University’s Steve Conner went 2 for 3 with a triple and three RBIs and Brett Howard was 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Trojan Al Contrera had two doubles. The winning pitcher was Todd Krueger (3-4). Tim Fleisher of the Mustangs (1-4) was 2 for 4 with an RBI.

Estancia 1, Laguna Beach 0--Artist left hander Coby Naess (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season as Estancia’s Mike Rosellini pitched a one-hitter at Laguna Beach. Rosellini lowered his ERA to 1.21. Estancia scored the winning run in the fifth inning when Alex Sandozequi singled to drive in pinch runner Javier Gomez.

In South Coast League action:

Mission Viejo 2, Capistrano Valley 0--Diablo pitcher Jack Bailey (5-1) had an excellent day, shutting out the Cougars on eight hits, recording eight strikeouts and hitting a double at Capistrano Valley (2-3, 9-6). The game was scoreless until the seventh inning when David Hori of Mission Viejo (3-0, 12-2) doubled and Robert DeMarino drove him in with a double. Bob Doran later came around to score on a wild pitch. The Cougars loaded the bases with two out in the bottom of the inning, but Bailey got off the hook when a line drive to center was caught for the third out.

Irvine 5, Dana Hills 3--Pitcher Brian Snoddy raised his record to 7-0 at Irvine. Bobby Hamlin’s two-run homer in the fourth inning put the Vaqueros (5-0, 12-6) ahead for good at 4-3. Dana Hills is in third place at 1-2 (6-7).

Laguna Hills 3, San Clemente 0--Wayne Helm (5-2) struck out 12 and allowed 2 hits for the Hawks (2-2, 10-7) at Laguna Hills. Helm also contributed a two-run homer in the fifth inning. Dave Shetland’s two-out RBI-single to score Jeff Hendrickson in the second inning accounted for the only other run of the game. Pitcher Jeff Foster took the loss for the Tritons (0-4), allowing seven hits.

In Sunset League action:

Edison 4, Westminster 2--Frank Vidales (3-1) of Edison (2-4, 10-7) gave up five hits on his way to the win at Mile Square Park. Charger shortstop Joe Aversa played a good defensive game and had two hits, while Jeff Bruelette had an RBI single. Westminster (2-4) was led by freshman Ryan Klesko who doubled and singled. The losing pitcher was John Gonzales.