Orange County Prep Baseball : Surico’s Speed Gets Him in Rare Trouble

How fast is Tustin High School pitcher Steve Surico? He was so fast on Tuesday that it cost the senior left-hander his first loss of the season.

Canyon benefited from three passed balls to break a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning and gained a 6-3 victory over the Tillers to remain in a first-place tie with Foothill in the Century League.

The Comanches (7-2 in league, 12-6 overall) managed only five hits off Surico (6-1) but took advantage of four walks, three passed balls, a wild pitch and a balk to earn the win.

Tustin (6-3, 13-4) opened a 3-0 lead in the first inning on a three-run homer over the center-field fence by designated hitter Chris Floth. The Tillers rocked Canyon starter Mike Townley (5-4) for three hits in the inning, but Townley allowed only two more hits until Larry Houck got the final two outs to register a save.

A bloop double down the right-field line by Tustin’s Steve Lichtenwalter started a rally in the third inning.

Surico walked Mike Sliemers and Joe Furukawa, then allowed a run to score on a balk and another on a wild pitch. Phil Gasca’s run-scoring single tied the score, 3-3.

Gasca opened the sixth inning with a routine pop up to Tustin first baseman Monty Roberts that he bobbled for an error. Ralph Garcia followed with a high grounder that eluded Tiller third baseman Ken Lynch for a double.

With runners on third and second, Surico went for a little extra on his fastball. The only problem was his pitches got past catcher Darren Puckett. Two passed balls later, Gasca and Garcia had scored.

In other Century League action:

Orange 5, El Modena 2--Sophomore right-hander Skip Tanner went the distance in his first start to give the Panthers (1-8, 5-14) the win at El Modena. Tanner, who returned after injuring his back in a home plate collision earlier this season, also went 1 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored. Foothill 7, Villa Park 5--Chris Cutliff went 3 for 3 with two RBIs, including an RBI single in Foothill’s three-run fourth inning to lead the Knights (7-2, 12-6) at Villa Park.

Winning pitcher David Fox (5-2) and John McTaggart also singled home runs in the fourth. Doug Kopcha added a homer in the fifth for Foothill. Villa Park (4-5, 7-16) had home runs by John Genova, Graig Pollard and Howard Saldarini.

Santa Ana 15, Santa Ana Valley 6--Sophomore Efrem Sanchez pitched five innings to earn the victory at Santa Ana. Sanchez also went 3 for 4 with two RBIs in his first varsity game for the Saints (5-4, 13-6). Santa Ana Valley is 1-8 and 5-13.

In Empire League action:

Esperanza 6, Cypress 3--Eric Cox doubled in two runs and Dave Moralez drove in another with a double in a four-run fourth inning that rallied the Aztecs at Esperanza.

It was the seventh straight victory for the Aztecs (9-0, 17-1-1). The Aztecs were trailing 2-0 before a two-out Cypress error allowed Kevin Clancy to score. Cox and Moralez followed with doubles to give Esperanza a 4-2 lead. Tim MacNeil (5-0) worked 6 innings for the victory.

Jason Friedman had a double and three RBIs for Cypress (1-8, 10-11).

Loara 9, Los Alamitos 1--Wade Clester singled twice and hit a two-run homer to lead the Saxons (5-3-1, 14-7-1) over the Griffins (3-6, 13-9) at Los Alamitos.

Left-hander Mike Golia (7-1) went the distance to earn the victory.

El Dorado 20, Kennedy 3--Doug Sipple went 3 for 4 with four RBIs, and Doug Yates drove in three runs with three doubles at Kennedy to lead a 17-hit attack for the Vanguards (6-3, 14-6). Jeff Petredes (3-2) got the win. Kennedy is 4-5 and 7-11-2.

Pacifica 11, Katella 8 (8 innings)--Rick Brodt singled in Tony Derosa with the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth to break a 7-7 tie at Katella for the Mariners (2-5-1, 7-9-1).

In Academy League action:

Cal Lutheran 5, Newport Christian 4--Andrew Mahnke’s double broke a 4-4 tie in the sixth and gave Cal Lutheran (3-6, 3-8) a win at Newport Christian (4-4, 5-6).

In Olympic League action:

Capistrano Valley Christian 6, Orange Lutheran 4--Senior catcher Jay Hawthorne went 2 for 4 with 5 RBIs to lead Capo Valley Christian (4-4, 7-7) to an Olympic League win at Orange Lutheran.

In Academy League action:

Cal Lutheran 5, Newport Christian 4--Andrew Mahnke’s double broke a 4-4 tie in the sixth and gave Cal Lutheran (3-6, 3-8) a win at Newport Christian (4-4, 5-6).

In Olympic League action:

Capistrano Valley Christian 6, Orange Lutheran 4--Senior catcher Jay Hawthorne went 2 for 4 with 5 RBIs to lead Capo Valley Christian (4-4, 7-7) to an Olympic League win at Orange Lutheran.