The Preps : Garden Grove League Baseball : Kennedy’s Montera Does It All : He Pitches 2-Hitter, Gets 2 Hits and 2 RBIs in Victory Over Pacifica

Pete Montera pitched a two-hitter and had two hits and two runs batted in to lead Kennedy High School to a 4-1 victory over Pacifica in a Garden Grove League game Friday at Pacifica.

Kennedy (14-4, 5-1) moved into a tie for first place with Pacifica (8-8, 5-1) with eight games to play. The Irish, who haven’t won a league title in 20 years, will play host to the Mariners in three weeks.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been tied for first this late in the year, and it’s great to be in this position,” Kennedy Coach Chris Pascal said. “If we lost today, we would have been two games out and it would have been awfully tough for us to catch up because Pacifica has a very good team.”

Montera, who walked three and struck out three, allowed only one hit in the first six innings, a single by Kevin Ashworth in the first. Montera, who threw 98 pitches, didn’t allow another hit until the seventh, when Kevin Prentiss singled home Pacifica’s run. Rich Yukihiro started the inning with a walk and advanced to second on catcher Scott Wood’s passed ball.

“He’s been very consistent in throwing strikes all season, and he threw the ball very well today,” said Pascal of Montera. “The guys like to play behind him because he keeps the ball around the plate and doesn’t walk a lot of batters.”

Said Pacifica Coach Kent Bothwell: “Montera did a good job of mixing his pitches and kept us off-balance throughout the game.”

Montera gave Kennedy a 1-0 lead by singling home Craig Roah in the third inning. Roah, who singled with one out, stole second to set up Montera’s run-scoring hit.

Montera, who went to third when center fielder Chris Shockley mishandled his single, scored Kennedy’s second run of the inning on losing pitcher Jeff McKenzie’s (2-3) wild pitch.

Montera drove home his second run of the game in the fifth inning when his fly ball to left scored Roah, who singled, went to second on another McKenzie wild pitch and stole third.

Montera got his second hit of the game--another single--in the seventh off reliever Robert Toth, who replaced McKenzie in the sixth after McKenzie faced one batter in the inning. Rod Gonzales, who ran for Montera, went to third on Steve Rath’s single and scored Kennedy’s fourth run on Ernie Franco’s run-scoring single.

Rath had three singles in four at-bats. Franco also had two hits for Kennedy.

Bolsa Grande 7, Rancho Alamitos 3--Rick Tantardini had two hits and three RBIs as host Bolsa Grande (8-8, 1-5) broke a five-game losing streak. Brian Osterobe hit a home run for Rancho Alamitos (8-7, 2-4). Jerry Maldonado pitched a four-hitter with seven strikeouts for Bolsa Grande.

Santiago 4, Los Amigos 0--Senior Sergio Nunez pitched a four-hitter, striking out six and walking one in his pitching debut. Dana Ripley hit a two-run home run in the first inning for the Cavaliers (6-8-1, 3-3).

La Quinta 9, Garden Grove 3--James Johnson went four for four with three doubles and three RBIs for the Aztecs (15-3-1, 5-1). John Korzen (4-0) went five innings, allowing three hits and one walk.