SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : 3-A Roundup : Trachsel, Troy’s Committee Chairman for Day, Beats Corona

Bruce King, Troy High School baseball coach, told his team he was going to use a committee of pitchers against Corona in a Southern Section 3-A second-round playoff game Tuesday. Steve Trachsel almost made it a committee of one.

Working in his first varsity game, Trachsel pitched Troy, the Freeway League champion, to a 4-0 victory at Corona.

Troy (20-6) will face Alhambra in Friday’s quarterfinals. Corona finishes 15-12.

King will have his star pitcher, Chris Robinson (11-2), ready for Friday’s game. Robinson, who has worked 89 innings this season, only had to face one batter for the final out to pick up the save for Trachsel.

Mike Case gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead in the second with a home run off Corona starter and loser Mario Campos (8-6). Jeff Ferren had RBI singles in the third and seventh innings. Campos gave up seven hits.

King said he didn’t want to put undue pressure on any one pitcher. Just before the game, he gave the ball to Trachsel, who had spent the season with the junior varsity, because he had pitched three strong innings in an intrasquad game last Wednesday.

Trachsel, who allowed six hits, was frequently in trouble, as the Panthers stranded eight runners through six innings.

In the first, Corona had runners on first and third when Jesse Ramirez hit a line drive that was turned into a double play by Case at third base. In the fourth, Trachsel worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation with a strikeout and a ground ball.

Trachsel avoided a threat in the sixth, when Jason Young was thrown out trying to advance to third on a single to right by Alan Cavasof, who was 4 for 4.

“I wasn’t sure how far I could go,” Trachsel said. “I threw strikes and let the defense take care of everything. I got a little rattled when they got base hits. I had to compose myself and the enthusiasm of the team kept me up. I was pretty tired; I didn’t expect to go that long. I only expected to go a couple of innings.”

Arlington 2, Valencia 1--Ernie Acosta led off the 11th inning with his fourth home run of the season at Arlington High School.

Acosta, who was hitless in his first four at-bats against loser Dennis Burbank, hit a 1-1 fastball over the left-field fence.

The home run gave Mark Pratt (10-4) his second victory of the playoffs. Pratt pitched four shutout innings in relief of Ric Leach, who gave up one run and four hits in seven innings.

Burbank, who pitched a complete game in Friday’s 5-2 victory over Leuzinger, allowed eight hits, walked four and struck out seven.

Valencia took the lead in the third when shortstop Nacho Garcia hit a one-out double and center fielder Rudy Lopez followed with a double over Acosta’s head in left.

Arlington tied it with a two-out rally in the fifth. Shortstop Lane Lambert, who reached base in all five at-bats, singled and stole second. Pratt scored him with a single to left.

Arlington squandered a chance to win in the seventh, after leadoff hitter Jim Patterson reached on an error. Courtesy runner Guillermo Andrade was picked off, allowing Burbank to get out of the inning despite singles by Lambert and Mike Ward.

Villa Park 7, South Hills 6 (10 innings)--The Spartans rallied three times to defeat the Huskies at Villa Park to advance to the quarterfinals.

Pinch-runner Dave DeLeon scored on a throwing error with two outs in the bottom of the 10th to give the Spartans (19-10) the victory.

Chris Johnson opened the inning with a single to left. DeLeon, in to run, went to second on a throwing error by losing pitcher Sonny Arguinzoni (1-4). DeLeon took third on Tom Roth’s fly to right and continued home when shortstop Willie Speakman’s relay went into the dugout.

It was the third time in four innings that Villa Park had scored with two outs.

The Huskies (13-12) led, 5-4, and were one out from victory in the seventh when Jason Wilkerson singled in John Genova.

The Spartans were on the verge of elimination again in the eighth. With two on and no outs, Roth’s grounder to third baseman Clay Tellers appeared to end the game. But Tellers threw wildly to first and Roth (2 for 5) ended up on second.

John Watrous then hit a high chopper over the mound and barely beat Speakman’s throw to first. Roth scored from second without a throw to tie the score, 6-6.

Jerry Ashoff (3-2) pitched 5 innings for the victory.