The Preps : Baseball Roundup : Loara Gets by El Dorado, 4-3, on Eric Smith’s Home Run and Pitching

Eric Smith hit a leadoff home run in the fifth inning to break a tie and give Loara High School a 4-3 victory over El Dorado in an Empire League baseball game Friday at Loara.

Joey Gaudio hit a three-run home run in the fourth to give Loara a 3-2 lead. It was Smith’s third home run and Gaudio’s first this season. Smith also pitched a seven-hitter with eight strikeouts for Loara (7-10 overall and 4-3 in league play).

For El Dorado (12-6, 4-3), Bruce Petillo hit a two-run home run in the fourth, and Phil Nevin hit a solo home run in the fifth.

In other Empire League games:

Cypress 11, Esperanza 6--Mark Macalello had a single, double and two RBIs and Robert Prince had a two-run double for Cypress (4-7-3, 2-4-1). Esperanza is 1-5-1 in league play.

Los Alamitos 6, Katella 5 (8 innings)--Anthony Napolitano hit a solo homer with one out in the bottom of the eighth for Los Alamitos (10-8, 4-2) at home. Napolitano, who pitched the top of the inning in relief, also got the victory to improve to 2-1. Todd Gragnano sparked a four-run first inning for Los Alamitos with a two-run triple.

In the Century League:

Foothill 13, Canyon 2--Brad Bridenbecker was three for three with five RBIs, and Kent Donnelly pitched six innings, striking out eight for Foothill (11-6, 5-2). The Knights scored seven runs in the sixth inning.

Santa Ana 3, Villa Park 2--The Saints (10-7, 5-2) held off a late rally as first baseman Mark DeLaRiva snagged a line drive with the bases loaded to end the game.

In the Freeway League:

Fullerton 11, Sunny Hills 10--Rene Arias had a sacrifice fly to break a 10-10 tie in the seventh for visiting Fullerton (5-2 in league play). Brian Veronda had three hits for Sunny Hills (11-6, 5-2).

Troy 10, Buena Park 2--Tom Wilson (6-0), pitched a one-hitter, but walked three and hit two. Buena Park’s David Beltran singled to right-center to break up the no-hitter in the sixth inning. Wilson had two hits, scored three runs, and had two RBIs. He also hit a two-run home run in the fifth. Tom Furukawa had three hits, including a double and a triple, and scored four runs, and Tho Nguyen had a two-run home run in the fifth for Troy (11-4, 6-1).

La Habra 5, Sonora 2--Mike Morris (1-0) pitched a seven-hitter with six strikeouts for visiting La Habra (7-5, 4-3). Tim Moore had two hits and scored a run, Mark Moreno had two hits including a double, and pitcher Morris added an RBI triple. Stuart Cochran had two hits for Sonora, 1-6 in league play.

In the Orange League:

Anaheim 6, Valencia 1--Pete Gonzales (2-3) pitched three innings and Robert Fernandez pitched the final four for the save for Anaheim (10-8, 6-1). They combined on a five-hitter. John Barber and Ryan Jura had two hits including a double and an RBI each for Anaheim.

Brea-Olinda 5, Western 1--Chad Marlow drove in two runs, going two for three to lead the Wildcats (7-9, 3-4). Aaron Charlton struck out seven and allowed five hits before coming out with one on and no outs in the seventh for Marc Kaiser, who picked up his second save of the season.

In the Sea View League:

Estancia 3, Saddleback 1--The Eagles (12-5, 5-2) scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth as Marco Vazquez walked with the bases loaded bringing in the go-ahead run, and Mark Hartley singled to drive in the second run. Greg Brannif pitched a three-hitter, striking out six and walking two. The Eagles’ fifth consecutive victory broke a tie with Saddleback (9-7, 4-3) for second place.

Tustin 12, Newport Harbor 0--Dan Baker (3-2) pitched a one-hitter, walking one and striking out 14 for visiting Tustin. Baker, who retired the final seven batters, faced one batter over the minimum. Eric Grove went two for three with a triple and one RBI for the Tillers (11-6, 6-1).

University 7, Corona del Mar 2--Brian Bail tripled to drive in two runs, and Jon Cotliar was two for three with a double for host University. Kevin Squires picked up his second victory of the week, pitching five innings, striking out seven and allowing one earned run for University (7-9-1, 4-3).

In the South Coast League:

Capistrano Valley 7, Mission Viejo 5--David Guillen hit two home runs and had four RBIs to lead visiting Capistrano Valley (12-5, 5-2). Mike Mosebrook went the distance to improve to 7-1. Don Disbro went two for three with a double and three RBIs for Mission Viejo (11-5, 4-3).

Irvine 3, San Clemente 2--Kevin Obergfell had two-run single in the fifth and pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for the save for host Irvine (9-8, 4-3). John Bretza (1-2) pitched the first 5 2/3 innings for the victory. Scott Vollmer hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth as Irvine built a 3-1 lead.

El Toro 10, Dana Hills 8--El Toro (13-5, 5-2) hit four home runs in the victory at Dana Hills. Scott Toppo hit two home runs and had three RBIs. Sean Drinkwater hit a solo home run and Chad Hoelker hit a two-run home run for El Toro, which led, 9-2, in the sixth. Brad Hulse (4-0). pitched the first six innings for the victory. Greg Pearce picked up the save.

In the Academy League:

Liberty Christian 15, Heritage 3 (5 innings, mercy rule)--Mark Baltodano (2-0) allowed six hits and had five strikeouts for Liberty Christian (11-2, 2-0). Todd Price had three hits, including a double. John O’Conner had three hits and four RBIs, and Chris Buckels had a two-run home run and a sacrifice fly for Liberty Christian.

St, Margaret’s 18, St. Michael 0 (5 innings, mercy rule)--Adam Chilvers (2-4) allowed two hits and had three hits and two RBIs for host St. Margaret’s at Cook Park in San Juan Capistrano. Jeff Hilgers had three hits, three runs and three RBIs, and McDougall Harper had four hits and scored two runs for St. Margaret’s (4-6, 2-0). St. Michael’s is 0-7, 0-2.

In the Olympic League:

Orange Lutheran 5, Whitney 4--The Lancers (8-7-1, 5-1) scored five runs in the first inning and then held on for the victory. Whitney had the tying and winning runs on base in the seventh inning before relief pitcher Kent Dowding came in and struck out the side.

Capistrano Valley Christian 9, Santa Margarita 2--Kerry Langdale hit a home run and a double, drove in three runs and scored two runs for Capistrano Valley Christian (7-7, 2-4).