Prep Baseball Roundup : El Toro’s Batters Come Out Blazing and Capistrano Valley Is Left Blistered, 15-1

El Toro High School had its hottest offensive day so far this season with a 15-1 victory over Capistrano Valley Wednesday in a South Coast League baseball game at El Toro.

Catcher Scott Toppo, shortstop Sean Drinkwater and center fielder David Nemeth led El Toro’s 12-hit attack with three hits apiece.

“We were due to put everything together, and the hitting became contagious,” El Toro Coach Dan DeLeon said. “I wish we could have saved a few runs for our next game.”

El Toro (11-4 overall, 3-1 in league play) scored seven runs in the first two innings and then put the game away by scoring eight runs in the fourth, when 13 batters came to the plate.

Winning pitcher Rob Johnson (5-1) shut out Capistrano Valley through six innings, allowing an unearned run in the seventh as El Toro moved into a first-place tie with Mission Viejo (10-3, 3-1) in the league.

“They broke it open early and then it became a laugher,” Capistrano Valley Coach Bob Zamora said. “Our young sophomore pitcher (Chris Lugo) walked two batters and hit two more in the first two innings and that was very unlike him.”

Lugo (3-1) had walked only three batters in 28 innings, but El Toro eventually scored four runs in the opening two innings by capitalizing on Lugo’s mistakes.

Drinkwater, breaking out of a three-game slump, hit two doubles and a single and drove in three runs. Nemeth scored three runs and made several nice plays in the outfield. Toppo had three consecutive hits and stole a base as the Chargers blistered three Capistrano Valley pitchers.

Almost lost in the offensive display was a fine pitching performance by Johnson. The sophomore allowed a hit in every inning, but had the Cougars shut out by stranding 10 runners until an error by second baseman Chris Sauritch on a potential double play ball gave Capistrano Valley its only run.

“I thought Rob pitched a great game,” DeLeon said. “He’s a competitive kid, and the shutout meant a lot to him. It’s unfortunate that the error cost him the shutout.”

In other South Coast League games:

Mission Viejo 3, San Clemente 1--Eric Cedarstaff (5-0) allowed four hits over 6 1/3 innings and Steve Evans finished up for his fourth save for host Mission Viejo (10-3, 3-1). Jeff Hawkins had two hits and two RBIs for Mission Viejo.

Dana Hills 5, Irvine 3--Ricky Whipple (1-0) pitched 4 1/3 innings for the victory and Mark Kania finished it out to pick up the save.

Dana Hills opened a 5-0 lead after three innings. Nathan Ure had a two-run single in the first for the Dolphins (6-8-1, 2-2).

In the Angeles League:

Mater Dei 3, St Paul 2--Tony Pena (5-0) pitched a complete game with six strikeouts for the victory at St. Paul. Mater Dei scored three runs in the third to take a 3-1 lead. Juan Zarate singled, stole second and scored on Greg Carl’s double. Jason Gill had an infield single and Rob Ickes walked to load the bases. Jeff Ciccarella drove in a run on a ground out and Jim Kelly singled in the third run for Mater Dei (11-3, 2-1).

In the Empire League:

Los Alamitos 4, Esperanza 2--Los Alamitos pitchers Todd Gragnano, Curt Graham and Tony Napolitano combined for a two-hitter at Esperanza. Doug Kieck had two hits, including an RBI double, and scored a run for Los Alamitos (7-8, 2-2). Jason Bates hit a solo home run for Esperanza (6-4-3, 0-3-1).

Loara 2, Cypress 1--Loara scored twice in the the sixth at Cypress. Jon Gardikis had three hits and an RBI for Cypress (1-2-1, 3-5-3).

In the Freeway League:

Sunny Hills 8, Sonora 6--Brent Smith had a three-run triple in the fourth as host Sunny Hills (10-5, 4-0) scored six runs to take an 8-1 lead. Sonora came back to score five runs in the fifth. Brian Veronda (3-1) got the victory, and Ryan Frace worked the final three innings for the save. Benny Rodriguez had two hits, scored twice and stole two bases for Sunny Hills.

Fullerton 5, Troy 3--Rene Arias pitched a complete game for his fifth victory of the season. He also had two hits and an RBI for host Fullerton (7-6-1, 3-1). Troy is 8-4, 3-1.

In the Garden Grove League:

Kennedy 4, Santiago 3--Greg Hansell (5-1) pitched a six-hitter with 11 strikeouts for host Kennedy (11-3, 3-0). Erine Franco had two hits and two RBIs and Steve Rath had two hits and drove in a run for Kennedy. Enrique Brito had two hits for Santiago (4-7-1, 1-2).

La Quinta 9, Bolsa Grande 7 (eight innings)--Host Bolsa Grande (7-6, 0-3) scored a run in the seventh to tie the score at 7-7. La Quinta (12-3-1, 2-1) capitalized on a hit batsman and a throwing error to score two unearned runs in the eighth.

Rancho Alamitos 5, Los Amigos 4--Roddy McCall hit a three-run home run in the sixth for Rancho Alamitos (7-5, 1-2) to tie the score, 4-4, and Chris Colbert’s sacrifice scored Chris Singletary with the go-ahead run at Rancho Alamitos. Ryan Flanagan (4-2) pitched an eight-hitter.

In the Orange League:

Brea-Olinda 9, Savannah 6--Brea-Olinda, trailing 6-3, scored six times in the top of the seventh at Brookhurst Park. Ed Garcia’s RBI single and Matt Gegus’ two-run single led the rally for Brea (6-6, 2-2).

In the Sea View League:

Estancia 6, Corona del Mar 3--Gabe Javage pitched four shutout innings for host Estancia. Bill Gomez hit a two-run double for Estancia (9-5, 2-2), and teammate Clayton Nelson had an RBI double and scored a run.

University 8, Newport Harbor 0--Jason Williams carried a no-hitter into the seventh before giving up a one-out single. That was the only hit he gave up, and he struck out 11 in pitching his second consecutive shutout. Bryan Smith, Dave Dieter and Aaron Butler each had two hits for visiting University (5-8-1, 2-2).

Tustin 2, Saddleback 1--Erik Grove hit a home run to lead off the seventh, breaking a 1-1 tie for visiting Tustin (8-6, 3-1). Monte Jones (5-0) pitched a two-hitter.