Prep Baseball Roundup : Boyd’s Homer in Eighth Carries Mater Dei

Vic Boyd, Mater Dei High School’s designated hitter, wasn’t going to play Saturday against Bishop Amat.

Bob Ickes, Mater Dei coach, figured Boyd would be overmatched against Bishop Amat’s starting pitcher, Robert Rivera, and had planned to use Jim Betzsold as his designated hitter.

But playing a hunch, Ickes changed his mind and used Boyd as the team’s DH, and the left-handed hitter responded by opening the eighth inning with a home run that gave host Mater Dei a 1-0 victory over Bishop Amat in Angelus League play in Santa Ana.

Boyd, giving new meaning to the term DH--as in designated hunch--lofted an 0-2 fastball over the right-field fence and ended a fine pitching duel between Rivera and Mater Dei’s Scott Corliss.

“I was just trying to get a base hit and he threw me a high fastball,” Boyd said. “I thought the right fielder was going to make the play. That was my first homer. Not a bad first one, was it?”

Rivera (1-4) had allowed only four hits and had struck out eight, including Boyd once, going into extra innings as Bishop Amat (6-10, 1-5) looked for its first win against Mater Dei after three losses this season.

Mater Dei (14-3, 5-1) had blown its best scoring opportunity in the seventh when it failed to execute a bunt. Consecutive singles by Rob Ickes and Jeff Ciccarella to open the inning doubled Mater Dei’s previous hit production against Rivera, but the Monarchs failed to advance the runners.

Corliss (5-1) allowed only five hits, struck out 11 and didn’t allow a runner to reach third base. He gave up two hits in the fourth, but Bishop Amat’s threat quickly ended when Wade Kennedy popped out to first with two outs.

Corliss has 20 strikeouts in his last two outings, and he credited a cut fastball for his recent success. Corliss missed most of last season with tendinitis in his right shoulder, but he is emerging as one of the county’s best pitchers with a good curveball and an effective slider.

“He always had the ability, it was just a matter of gaining some confidence,” Ickes said. “I thought both guys pitched a hell of a game. Bishop Amat is a very good team, and they’re in last place in this league.”

In another Angelus League game:

Bishop Montgomery 3, Servite 2--Mark Tacconelli went two-for-four with a double and a solo homerun and Rob Walker went three-for-three with two doubles for Servite (9-8-1, 2-4) in the loss at Bishop Montgomery (12-4, 4-2).

In the Sunset League:

Fountain Valley 10, Edison 9--Steve Grack’s squeeze bunt in the top of the seventh inning drove in teammate Matt Hallock with the winning run as Fountain Valley (11-4, 6-1) remained in first place in the Sunset League.

Host Edison (6-8-2, 3-4) had a 9-8 lead after six innings. But Fountain Valley rallied to tie the game and then went ahead when Hallock blooped a single to left, stole second, went to third on an error when Grack successfully bunted between the mound and first base.

Hallock had a big day for Fountain Valley, hitting a grand slam and driving in six runs. Steve Montgomery earned a save by retiring Edison in order in the bottom of the seventh.

Marina 10, Huntington Beach 2--Shortstop Marty Osborne went two for five with a three-run homer in the second and a bases-loaded two-run single in the seventh to lead Marina (10-8, 3-4) at Huntington Beach. Chris Stevens (5-2) went the distance, striking out seven, giving up four hits and walking six. Huntington Beach is 6-10, 2-5.

Westminster 12, Ocean View 1--Westminster senior right-handers Brian Stubbs and Brett Grebe combined for a two-hitter and struck out eight against host Ocean View (4-3 in league play). Stubbs (2-0) pitched five innings for the win.

Right fielder Jim Slagel led the Lions’ 13-hit attack, going four for five with a double, a stolen base, two RBIs and three runs scored. Grebe was two for four with two RBIs. Westminster is 11-6-1, 3-4.

In nonleague baseball:

Liberty Christian 6, Highland Hall 5--Sparked by Steve McKee’s leadoff triple, Liberty Christian (12-2) scored four runs in the fifth to win at Tewinkle Park in Costa Mesa. Bryan James stole two bases to raise his total to 82 consecutive steals without being caught. Highland Hall is 9-5.