Bad Outing Troubling for Salkeld : Wild Streak Sinks Pitcher, Valley Team

Roger Salkeld of Saugus High called his performance in the California State Games on Saturday “terrible.”

His coach in this first-year event, Bob Lofrano of Chatsworth, was more tactful in his evaluation.

“He wasn’t real sharp,” Lofrano said.

No, he wasn’t, but that didn’t change the opinion college and professional baseball scouts have of Salkeld, a right-handed pitcher who will be a senior this fall.

“He might have been nervous,” said a college assistant coach who asked that his name not be used. “There are a lot of people here. He’s trying to impress them. But he has a great arm.”

Salkeld, 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, pitched five innings at San Diego State’s Smith Field as the Brewers, a team composed of high school all-stars from the 818 and 805 area codes, dropped a 9-8 decision to a San Diego/Orange County entry.

He was not the losing pitcher, although he surrendered seven runs on six hits. He also struck out six, walked seven and hit a batter.

“It just wasn’t a good outing,” Salkeld said. “It was terrible. I guess I was a little nervous.”

The walks are what discouraged Salkeld, but those numbers weren’t as important to the scouts as the high 80s he registered on their radar guns.

Salkeld’s wild ways caused immediate problems against the Padres, a team from the 619 and 714 area codes. He walked the first three batters he faced and missed the strike zone on 11 of his first 13 pitches. That helped the Padres to a 2-0 lead.

The Brewers responded with three runs in their half of the first, aided by a pair of Padre errors and a sacrifice fly by Gino Tagliaferri of Kennedy.

Scott Sharts of Simi Valley poked a single down the right-field line in the second to score two runners, and Ryan McGuire of El Camino Real combined with Sharts on a double steal to score another.

After walking two more and giving up another run in the top of the second, Salkeld began to settle down and a 6-3 lead seemed safe.

But the Padres scored four times in the fourth to take a 7-6 lead, though no one hit Salkeld hard. The key hit was center fielder Jim Austin’s slow-rolling, two-run single that somehow found its way up the middle.

The Brewers went back in front, 8-7, in the fifth.

Catcher Bob Hughes of Notre Dame was hit by a pitch to open the inning and Pierre Amado came in to pinch-run. Tagliaferri bounced a single over the third baseman’s head and Mark Smith of Arcadia walked to load the bases.

The Padres brought in left-handed reliever Sean Rees, who struck out Steve Dailey of Ventura, then walked Brian Eldridge of Monroe to bring Amado home. Tagliaferri scored on a wild pitch before Joel Wolfe and McGuire struck out to end the rally.

Relief pitcher Bert Reyes of Nogales was unable to hold the lead in the sixth inning, giving up a two-out, two-strike, two-run single to Sean Mulligan that made the difference.

The Brewers, 2-2 in the tournament, are scheduled to play at 11 a.m. today against the San Francisco entry to decide third place.