Stark Throws a 3-Hitter as El Toro Wins

Tim Jurkowski and Bo Haley each drove in two runs Friday as El Toro High School defeated Santa Clara, 5-2, in the Southern Section 3-A quarterfinals at El Toro.

El Toro (17-13), the third-place representative from the South Coast League, will play Saddleback Tuesday in the semifinals at a site to be determined. Saddleback defeated Dana Hills, 5-3, to advance.

Santa Clara (18-4) took the lead with a two-run second inning. Mike Teron hit a solo home run and the Saints scored again on a single, a hit batter and two walks.

But that was the extent of Santa Clara’s offense, as Jeff Stark stopped a team that hit six home runs in its 16-14 second-round victory over Bellflower. Stark (6-3) threw a 3-hitter, striking out 5.

El Toro took the lead in the fourth inning. After walks to Brian McNamara and Adam Brass, Sean Drinkwater had an infield single to load the bases with no outs. Dave Nemeth’s grounder scored McNamara and Jurkowski’s single drove in Brass and Drinkwater for a 3-2 lead.

In the sixth, El Toro added two more runs. Drinkwater and Nemeth led off the inning with back-to-back singles. Jurkowski’s fly to center advanced Drinkwater to third and Nemeth stole second on the next pitch. Haley then hit a two-RBI single.