13-Hit Attack Leads Rio Mesa Over Hueneme

Rio Mesa High’s baseball team was without its best batter, but that doesn’t mean the Spartans weren’t a big hit in Friday’s Channel League game against Hueneme.

Rio Mesa pounded out 13 hits to defeat Hueneme, 8-2, at Rio Mesa and remain atop the league standings. Rio Mesa (11-5-1, 4-1-1 in league play) is tied with Ventura for first. Buena, whose game against Oxnard on Friday was postponed because of a muddy field, falls a half-game back, while Hueneme (9-7-1, 3-2-1) dropped a game off the pace.

Playing without Dmitri Young, a freshman left fielder who leads the team in home runs (3) and runs batted in (18), Rio Mesa nonetheless had three doubles and two home runs.

“They showed real good discipline at the plate,” Rio Mesa Coach Richard Duran said. “The kids laid off a lot of the borderline pitches and when they got good pitches, they hit the ball well.”

It wasn’t difficult. Hueneme starter Lupe Herrera had control problems and saw three fastballs deposited beyond the Rio Mesa fence in the first inning--two on homers by David Frazier and Pete Lopez and one on a ground-rule double by Steve Soliz.

“He just couldn’t hit spots,” Hueneme Coach Reg Welker said.

With one out in the bottom of the first, Frazier hit a fastball over the 335-foot sign in right. Soliz followed with a drive that one-hopped the fence in left.

Damon Dicus followed with a walk. Herrera struck out Bobby Ayala looking, but Lopez--who replaced Young in left--turned a fastball into the inning’s second homer, giving Rio Mesa a 4-0 lead. Lopez also had two singles and four RBIs.

And while the Spartans were adding a run in the third and three more in the fourth, Ayala was shutting down the Vikings (9-7-1, 3-2-1) on three hits over the first five innings.

“Bobby threw real well,” Duran said. “He never seemed to be in trouble until the sixth inning.”

With Rio Mesa ahead, 8-0, Ayala gave up a double and a single to open the sixth. A double-play ground ball allowed one run to score and cleared the bases, but Ayala then hit a batter and gave up another double.