Southern Section Baseball : Esperanza to Meet Servite Again : Top-Ranked Aztecs Look to Avenge Early Loss to Friars

Two Orange County high school baseball teams will travel to the outermost limits of the Southern Section today, but the featured playoff game will take place in the heart of the county--Anaheim--where Esperanza will play Servite in the quarterfinals of the 4-A tournament at Servite High.

Defending champion Esperanza (23-2), ranked first in the county for most of the season and seeded first in the 4-A division, is coming off Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Diamond Bar, in which the Aztecs scored two unearned runs. Servite (21-5-1), ranked second in the county for much of the season, defeated Westlake, 4-3, in Tuesday’s second round.

Villa Park will travel north about 250 miles to Santa Maria for a 3-A quarterfinal game against Righetti, and Capistrano Valley will go almost as far in the opposite direction to meet Central in a 2-A quarterfinal in El Centro.

Esperanza and Servite met in a nonleague game on March 17, when Servite won, 5-3, on the strength of Mike Robertson’s three-run home run. The winner of today’s game will advance to Tuesday’s semifinals.

Senior right-hander James Ferguson, who threw a four-hitter to lead Servite to a 1-0 victory over Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) in the first round, will pitch for the Friars, but Aztec Coach Mike Curran hasn’t decided on a starter.

Sophomore right-hander Roger Weems (8-0) is suffering from a strained neck muscle and had to remove himself from last Friday’s game after facing only one batter. Curran may come back with junior left-hander Rob Nay or junior right-hander Jason Moler, who went the distance Tuesday.

“Weems threw some Wednesday and looked encouraging,” Curran said. “But if he’s not ready, it could be any one of three or four guys.”

Ferguson (9-1) has lost only one game in his three-year varsity career, when he lasted 1 innings and gave up six hits and four runs in a 4-2 loss to Bishop Amat on May 5. Ferguson had been suffering from bronchitis at the time, but Friar Coach Mike McNary said he is healthy and well-rested for today’s game.

The Friars are led offensively by first baseman Robertson (five home runs), outfielder Tom Szymanski (.432 batting average during the regular season), catcher Brian Criss (20 RBIs) and designated hitter Mike Petko.

Esperanza is led by shortstop Tom Redington (8 homers, 28 RBIs, 30 runs scored), left fielder Bart Goldman (.480, 10 doubles, 29 runs scored), second baseman Doug Saunders (.426, 5 homers, 22 RBIs) and first baseman/pitcher Moler (29 RBIs).

In other 4-A quarterfinal games:

Ocean View (20-6) at Arcadia (20-5-1)--Seahawk pitchers Dan Naulty and Mike Fyhrie combined to no-hit Channel Islands in the first round and four-hit Colton in the second round, but Ocean View Coach Bill Gibbons may change his pitching rotation today.

Right-hander David Holdridge, who hasn’t pitched all season because of an off-season shoulder injury, threw after Tuesday’s game and may get his first start today.

“I’ll leave that one in the air,” Gibbons said. “I’m not sure if he’ll be ready, and I don’t know if Fyhrie and Naulty will be sound without the extra day’s rest. Any time you pitch on Tuesday and try to come back on Friday, you’re going to be tired.”

Holdridge, who led the county in home runs (9) and RBIs (36), did not have a hit in either of the Seahawks’ playoff victories, over Channel Islands (3-0) and Colton (2-1). Fyhrie had an RBI single and Vic Fresca an RBI double Tuesday.

“It’s encouraging that we’re able to win without him (Holdridge), because you don’t figure he’ll stay that way for long,” Gibbons said. “To win, you can’t have one or two guys carrying you.”

In 3-A quarterfinal games:

Villa Park (18-10) at Righetti (14-12-1)--Tom Kelly, a senior left-hander with a 9-5 record and 2.05 earned-run average, will start for the Spartans. Kelly pitched five innings but threw only 78 pitches in Villa Park’s 7-6, 10-inning victory over South Hills Tuesday, and he went the distance in the Spartans’ 13-4 victory over Fullerton in the first round.

Villa Park is led offensively by leadoff hitter Tommy Roth (.313), Tony Inga (23 RBIs), Trent Eye (20 RBIs) and John Genova (19 RBIs). Righetti, the second-place team from the Northern League, defeated Hart, 10-5, in the first round and Gahr, 7-3, in the second.

Alhambra (21-7) at Troy (19-6)--Troy entered the playoffs with a .401 team batting average and has 37 home runs, including two by third baseman Mike Case in the playoffs. Senior right-hander Chris Robinson (11-2), who pitched a complete-game five-hitter in last Friday’s 4-1 victory over Savanna and the last four pitches of Tuesday’s 4-1 victory over Corona, will start today.

The second-seeded Moors advanced after defeating Downey, 5-3, in the first round and Dos Pueblos, 10-9, in the second. Alhambra has made six errors in two playoff games.

In 2-A quarterfinals:

Mountain View (14-9) at Laguna Hills (18-9)--Senior left-hander Jon Willard (8-3) will start for Laguna Hills, which advanced after defeating Dana Hills, 5-3, in the first round and Barstow, 5-4, in the second. Catcher Aaron Arredondo has five hits in the playoffs, and first baseman Rob Milo has four.

The Vikings, the second-place team from the Mission Valley League, beat Santa Clara, 7-2, in the first round and El Rancho, 2-1, in the second.

Capistrano Valley (24-3) at Central (18-5-1)--Brett Snyder (10-1), who pitched only five innings in Capistrano Valley’s 7-1 first-round victory over Duarte, will start.

Capistrano Valley had eight hits, including four home runs, in Tuesday’s 6-1 victory over Tustin. Designated hitter Brian Walker went 3 for 3 with two home runs and a double, and Tommy Adams hit his ninth homer of the season.

Central, the second-place team from the Desert Valleys League, has advanced after two one-run victories over Chino (4-3) and Pioneer (5-4).