Century League Baseball : Human Factor Catches Up With Canyon in 4-2 Loss to Foothill

Right field at Foothill High School can turn the most sure-handed and sure-footed outfielder into a klutz in cleats.

Behind him, the right fielder must contend with a steep hill that slopes about 20 feet up to the outfield fence. In front, he must contend with a bright sun that, as the afternoon wears on, dips down between third base and home and shines directly into his eyes.

For five innings Friday, Steve Lichtenwalter, Canyon High School’s right fielder, had conquered all the elements in the Comanches’ Century League game against the Knights.

He raced up the hill to snag Doug Kopcha’s double in the fourth inning and fired a perfect throw to second baseman Joe Furukawa, who relayed the ball to third base in time to cut down Kopcha, who was trying for a triple. Lichtenwalter fought off the sun to catch three difficult fly balls.

But it was a sixth-inning play that didn’t involve any of nature’s obstacles in right field that led to Foothill’s 4-2 victory.

With the score tied, 2-2, David Fox led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, and Marc Simon sacrificed pinch-runner Jeff Bailard to second.

Pat Crawford, who had doubled in a run in the first inning, lined a single to right field. Lichtenwalter raced in and appeared to have a good shot at throwing out Bailard, who hadn’t quite reached third but was being waved around by Foothill Coach Gerry Sedoo.

But the ball caromed off Lichtenwalter’s glove and Bailard came home uncontested to give the Knights a 3-2 lead. The right fielder recovered and threw out Crawford, who rounded first a little wide, but the damage had been done.

Foothill (9-3, 14-7) then scored its final run on singles by Kopcha and Frank Governale, a catcher’s interference call and an error by third baseman Jim Restivo.

Offensively, the Comanches (8-4, 13-8) never tested right field, or any of the outfield, for that matter. They managed just five singles off right-hander Mike Pope, who went the distance to improve to 3-1.

Canyon scored both its runs in the second inning when Todd French singled, Ralph Pacheco walked and Mike Townley singled. Two runs scored on Townley’s hit, as the ball bounced off Foothill left fielder Todd Schwary for an error.

The Knights recovered defensively from that inning and turned two double plays behind Pope. Catcher Sterling Crook also threw out two runners attempting to steal second.

Foothill scored twice in the first inning when Andrew Greco, John McTaggart and Crawford each doubled off Canyon starter Townley, who took the loss. McTaggart, the Knights’ cleanup hitter, injured his foot while rounding first base on his hit and was unable to continue.

In other Century League action:

Santa Ana 2, Villa Park 1 (10 innings)--Fred Barrios pitched 10 innings, allowing one run, and opened the 10th with a walk before being replaced by pinch-runner Hector Arvizu, who scored the winning run for the Saints (7-5, 15-7) at Santa Ana High.

Jaime Franco singled and Arvizu was safe at home when the ball was dropped by the Spartan catcher. Hector Valencia hit a sacrifice fly in the second for the Saints’ other run. Craig Pollard tied the score with a single in the fifth for Villa Park (5-7, 8-18). John Hefler was 3 for 3 for Santa Ana, which has won five of the last six games.

El Modena 7, Santa Ana Valley 2--The Vanguards (8-4, 11-8) used eight walks and only five hits to score their seven runs. David Black got the win for El Modena; David Lievonas took the loss for the Falcons (1-11, 5-18).