THE PREPS : Freeway League Baseball : La Habra Comes Back to Beat Troy

Paul Thomas, La Habra High School baseball coach, is confident his team will find a way to win if a game is on the line.

Wednesday, the Highlanders proved their coach correct with timely hitting and strong pitching to defeat Troy, 4-2, in a Freeway League game at La Habra.

The victory improves La Habra’s record to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in league play. Troy, the defending Southern Section 3-A champions, is 3-3 and 1-1.

“That was a real nail-biter,” Thomas said. “If we stay on the ball like we did today, I know we will have a chance to win.”

The Highlanders opened a 2-0 lead in the first on Jeff Shaw’s ground-rule double, which scored Tim Moore from second. Designated hitter Daren Downs followed with a single to score Shaw.

The Warriors scored a run in the second, but the relief pitching of Rob Utz (2-0) was the difference the rest of the way.

Utz took over for starter David Lipscomb in the fifth and allowed one unearned run--which tied the score at 2-2 in the fifth--and three hits the rest of the way.

La Habra, which finished third last year in league play, scored the go-ahead run in the fifth when Troy catcher Rob Jullian couldn’t hold on to a pitch from starter Tom Wilson (0-3) and David Stevens scored from third on the passed ball.

The Highlanders scored the game’s final run in the sixth inning when Utz’s sacrifice fly to center scored Moore.

Third basemen Matt Carter had three hits and Wilson added two for the Warriors. Shaw and Stevens had two each for La Habra.

Sunny Hills 20, Buena Park 0--John Montgomery hit a two-run home run, his second this season, in the second inning for visiting Sunny Hills (5-6, 1-1), which had 16 hits. Mike McGuire had two hits and an RBI, Brett Ramson had two hits and Jeff White had a hit and four RBIs. Pitcher Jeff Kight gave up two hits over the first five innings for the victory.