HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP : Chula Vista Rides Wind, Trainor’s Arm to Upset

Designated hitter Anthony Garcia, Chula Vista High School’s second batter, stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the first inning in Thursday’s game between the leaders of the two Metro Conference baseball leagues, Castle Park and Chula Vista, and promptly smashed a drive to center field.

It was caught by Castle Park’s Mike Vallarelli--in right field.

It was that kind of afternoon. Both teams had to battle a stiff wind, the swirling kind that throws infield dust into your face and sends baseballs scurrying aimlessly across the sky.

But the difference was, Castle Park also had to face Chula Vista right-hander Steve Trainor, who pitched a one-hitter and was as tough as the wind. And because of that, host Chula Vista sneaked away with a 1-0 victory.

The Spartans, 7-9 overall and 4-0 in the Metro Mesa League, have won five consecutive games. Castle Park, rated No. 5 by The Times, is 15-3-1 and 3-1 in the Metro-South Bay League.

“It was one of the best games I’ve thrown,” said Trainor (2-2), who overcame Castle Park and its ace pitcher, Juan Beltran (5-2). “I felt strongest earlier in the game, but I felt strong the whole way. I could have gone a couple of more innings.”

Trainor, a 6-foot 2-inch, 185-pound junior, pitched on pure strength in the first two innings, when he struck out four of the first seven Castle Park batters, and then on dogged determination through the next five. Using his fastball--one of the few heated elements of a chilly afternoon--a wicked curve and a sneaky changeup, Trainor allowed only a third-inning Darin Husted single and four total baserunners.

Beltran gave up just three hits and struck out nine.

Trainor induced five out of six Castle Park batters in the fourth and fifth innings to hit the ball into the teeth of the wind in center field. At times, Chula Vista center fielder Sean Miranda, who singled home Joe Heinz with what proved to be the winning run in the second inning, looked a bit dizzy as he circled under the balls, but he was flawless.

“If it wasn’t as windy, I think a couple of those balls might have fallen in,” Miranda said.

Not only would some of the balls have fallen in, one may have gone over the fence. In the fourth inning, Beltran got hold of one, but the wind blew it back and Miranda nabbed it with a diving catch.