High School Roundup : No. 8 Hitter Comes Through in Clutch for Top-Rated Madison

Darrin Legenza kept finding himself in right-time, right-place opportunities Thursday afternoon.

That worked out just right for the Madison High School baseball team.

Legenza, the No. 8 batter in Madison’s lineup, came to the plate in the first inning with the bases loaded and in the third with runners on second and third. On each occasion, Legenza, the second baseman, produced a clutch hit to lead the top-ranked Warhawks to a 9-4 victory at Point Loma.

“He did a good job of staying in there and making good contact,” said Bob Roeder, the Madison coach.

The same could be said of all of Madison’s batters, who combined for 13 hits as the Warhawks improved to 19-2 and 9-1 in the City Eastern League. Point Loma is 7-11, 2-7.

Madison wasted little time in pulling away.

Mark Hallisey opened the game with a single and scored one out later on a double by Pete Valdez.

Three walks by Point Loma pitcher Israel Stanley forced Valdez home and loaded the bases to give Legenza, who is just 5-feet 7-inches tall and weighs 140 pounds, his first opportunity. He came through with a fading triple down the right-field line to give Madison a 5-0 lead.

Two innings later, Madison catcher Buzz Brown led off with a single and advanced to second when Ryan Huckabone’s ground ball was mishandled. Both runners advanced a base on Wally Popiela’s sacrifice bunt, bringing Legenza back to the plate with a chance to pad Madison’s lead.

This time he fouled off four pitches before dumping a soft single to left to score two and bring his RBI total for the day to five.

Legenza led off the fifth with a sharp single and advanced to third when the ball skipped past the Point Loma left fielder. He scored Madison’s eighth run on a single by shortstop Mark Hallisey.

Legenza also provided solid defensive support with three putouts and three assists, including a double play with Hallisey in the fifth.

Madison pitcher Matt Lee (6-0) needed all the help he could get. Lee walked seven and gave up eight hits but hung on for the distance.

Lee’s two biggest jams came in the third and seventh.

In the third inning, Sabino Loaiza led off with a walk and scored when Jeff Gattis hit a home run to right.

Stanley then walked, and one out later, Dave Cipranic doubled. But Lee got Bill Eves on a popout and Marcel Brown on a groundout, both to Legenza.

In the seventh, an error and three consecutive singles brought one run home and left the bases loaded with one out. But two popouts ended the rally and the game.