Sunset League Baseball : Grebe Gives Westminster a Lift, 3-0
Pitcher Brett Grebe, who had been struggling with a 1-4 record and a 7.75 earned-run average, provided just the lift Westminster High School’s baseball team needed by allowing only three hits in 6 innings in a 3-0 victory over Huntington Beach Tuesday in Westminster.
Grebe (2-4) allowed two scratch singles in the first inning and then retired 16 batters before he allowed another hit in the seventh. With the victory, the Lions (10-7 overall, 3-3 in league play) moved out of last place and into a three-way tie for second with Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach in the tight Sunset League race.
Brian Stubbs recorded the final two outs in relief to earn a save as Huntington Beach (12-4, 3-3) was shut out for the first time this season. Grebe struck out five and Stubbs one.
Huntington Beach had its leadoff batter reach base in the sixth and seventh innings, but the Oilers never seriously threatened; they flied out 11 times.
“Grebe pitched a good ballgame, but we helped him out a lot by swinging at bad pitches,” Mike Dodd, Huntington Beach coach, said. “We’re usually an intense team, but we had a crummy practice on Monday, and you could see in our warmups that we didn’t have any intensity today.”
Grebe’s performance was a welcome sign for Westminster after the Lions’ top pitcher, Ryan Klesko, was declared out for the season with a shoulder injury. Klesko will remain as the team’s designated hitter.
Westminster got all the runs Grebe needed in the first inning when Dave Rodriguez, Joe Maisano and Jim Slagle opened with doubles off losing pitcher Dominic Alvarez (3-1) for a 2-0 lead. The Lions added an insurance run in the fifth inning when outfielder Ben Mendoza tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Slagle.
Afterward, Ostrowski credited an adjustment of Grebe’s grip on his fastball and curve in changing the pitcher’s production on the mound.
“Brett had a 1.70 earned-run average on the JV level last year,” Ostrowski said. “It was just a matter of a small adjustment and gaining some confidence.
Edison 5, Marina 4--Edison’s Daryl Mead doubled home Josh Bammer, who had a leadoff double in the fifth inning, to break a 4-4 tie at Marina. Mead was 2 for 3 and Bammer 1 for 3 for the Chargers (8-6-1, 4-2).
Fountain Valley 6, Ocean View 2--Fountain Valley (8-8, 3-3) scored six runs in the fourth inning, led by Mark Dodd’s solo homer and John Dalpogetto two-run single. The home run was Dodd’s sixth of the season.