Garden Grove League : Garden Grove Has Reason to Relax After 3-2 Victory

Before Wednesday afternoon’s game, you could see the tenseness in Garden Grove Coach Jim Rawls’ face.

But by game’s end, the tenseness had turned to a smile as the Argonauts clinched at least a tie for the Garden Grove League title by defeating Bolsa Grande, 3-2, at Garden Grove.

“This is a nice feeling,” Rawls said. “I put a lot of pressure on these kids to be successful, and today they went out and did it.”

The Argonauts (10-4, 13-7) got their only hit in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded on three walks by Matador pitcher Mike Valdez, senior catcher Jerry Canada hit a fastball off the right-field fence, scoring Greg Lorenz and Jeff Kanegae for a 2-0 lead. Later in the inning, Donnie Lockman’s sacrifice fly brought in Mark Kiefer to make the score 3-0.

Valdez (5-3), who took the loss, walked five and struck out three. Kiefer (7-2) gave up two runs in the seventh inning and worked out of a bases-loaded jam with two out and the tying run on third base. Kiefer got Rick Steels out on a ball hit back to the mound for the victory.

Kiefer, who struck out eight, said he felt the extra pressure.

“I was trying to overthrow the ball at times,” he said. “I knew we had to win today, and now I’m happy the pressure’s off us.”

Bolsa Grande (7-7, 11-10), which was in first place in the league a week ago, was led by junior Chris Tapia, who was 2 for 3 and scored a run.

In other Garden Grove League action:

La Quinta 7, Los Amigos 3--The Aztecs broke open a 1-1 game at Los Amigos with four runs on five hits in the fourth inning to earn a playoff spot for the ninth straight season. La Quinta (9-5, 17-8) had 13 hits and was led by Joey Dunn, who was 3 for 4 with an RBI, and Tim Park, who was 2 for 4 with a triple and two RBIs. Joe Jaglowski hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning for Los Amigos (1-13, 3-19). La Quinta’s Troy Paulsen, the county’s leading hitter, was hitless in three at-bats.

Santiago 6, Rancho Alamitos 5--The Cavaliers (9-5, 14-8) also gained a playoff spot. Santiago took a 5-0 lead and had to hang on as Rancho Alamitos pulled to within a run and put two runners on base in the seventh inning. But Anthony Candelas struck out the side in the final inning to secure the victory. Candelas also was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Rick Burns hit a two-run homer in the third inning for Santiago.