South Coast League Baseball : Huntsberger Pitches Irvine Past El Toro

Jim Huntsberger, who began the season as the fourth pitcher on Irvine High School’s baseball team, has side-armed his way onto the list of elite pitchers in Orange County over the past three weeks.

Huntsberger had another impressive outing Wednesday, throwing a six-hitter in the Vaqueros’ 1-0 victory over El Toro on a gusty afternoon in El Toro.

The victory moved Irvine (15-7 overall, 8-4 in league play) into a first-place tie with El Toro in the six-team South Coast League with three games remaining. El Toro (13-10, 8-4) had its seven-game winning streak snapped.

Huntsberger, a side-arming right-hander, didn’t allow a walk and kept El Toro’s predominantly right-hand-hitting lineup off stride most of the day by mixing up his pitches effectively.

Huntsberger (3-1) has a streak of 20 shutout innings against Mission Viejo, Dana Hills and now El Toro in league play. Bob Flint, Irvine coach, was as ineffective as El Toro’s hitters when trying to explain the senior’s effectiveness.

“I don’t even pretend to coach him,” Flint said. “Whenever a pitcher goes to the bullpen to throw in practice, I always go and work with him. Jim is the only pitcher I’ve ever allowed to work on his own.”

Besides, these days Flint has his hands full trying to solve Irvine’s hitting woes. The Vaqueros managed only four hits off El Toro pitcher Rob Johnson, marking the fifth time in the past six games that Irvine has managed only four hits.

Johnson, freshman brother of El Toro quarterback Bret Johnson, allowed the only run of the game in the sixth inning when Anthony Hernandez lined a single to left field that barely eluded El Toro third baseman Adam Brass. Hernandez’s hit scored teammate David Goldstein.

Johnson was making his first start in three weeks and had allowed only two infield hits until the sixth.

Afterward, Flint showed that he has kept his sense of humor despite his team’s hitting slump.

“As long as nobody scores, we’ll be all right,” he said.

Capistrano Valley 13, San Clemente 6--Buster Nietzke had two doubles, a home run and two RBIs to lead host Capistrano Valley (9-13, 5-7). Brian Walker had two hits and four RBIs and Cris Ashbach had two hits and three RBIs for Capistrano Valley. Jim Kemper (4-6) pitched a complete game, striking out six, for the victory.