Prep Baseball Roundup : Thobe’s Best Outing of the Season Leads Edison Past Marina

J.J. Thobe pitched a four-hitter and hit three singles to lead Edison High School to a 3-2 victory over Marina in a Sunset League baseball game Tuesday at Huntington Beach.

Both runs off Thobe (3-2) were unearned and came in the fifth inning when Edison committed three errors. An inning earlier, Thobe lost a no-hit bid when Marina’s Robin Lindsey smashed a liner off the glove of Edison third baseman Jeff Daniel. Thobe had retired 11 consecutive batters to open the game.

Edison (7-8-1, 4-4) scored in the third, fourth and fifth innings with Thobe scoring one run and driving in another.

Edison lost two one-run games last week and appeared too far behind Fountain Valley (12-4, 7-1) to contend for the league title. But Thobe’s performance against a good hitting team gave Edison Coach Paul Harrell hope.

“That was shades of last year when J.J. dominated people in this league,” Harrell said. “We sure needed it. That’s the best he’s pitched this season.”

Marty Osborne’s single to center scored both of Marina’s runs in the fifth, but Thobe retired six of the next seven batters he faced and struck out three of the last five batters he faced to end the game.

In other Sunset League games:

Huntington Beach 8, Ocean View 7--Jason Brissey hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Oilers (7-11, 3-5) the victory at Huntington Beach. Ocean View scored five runs in the first inning. Gary Christopherson had a two-run double and Mike Burns a two-run single for the Seahawks (4-4 in league play). Brian Wright had a bases-loaded triple in the second inning for Huntington Beach.

Westminster 4, Fountain Valley 2--Jim Slagle had three hits, including a solo home run, and two RBIs for the Lions (12-6-1, 4-4) at Westminster. Brett Grebe (5-2) allowed eight hits and struck out eight for the victory. Mark Dodd had a solo home run for Fountain Valley (6-2 in league play).

In the Academy League:

Liberty Christian 23, Newport Christian 0 (5 innings)--Chris Buckels pitched a two-hitter and struck out eight for visiting Liberty Christian. He batted in three runs with a single, a double and a two-run homer. Buckels has struck out 67 batters in 32 innings. John O’Conner had four hits and four RBIs, and Richard Beyikian added three RBIs on three hits for Liberty Christian (13-2, 3-0). Newport Christian is 1-5, 0-3.

In the Century League:

Foothill 17, Santa Ana Valley 1--Host Foothill had 18 hits in breezing past Santa Ana Valley. Santa Ana Valley had just five hits. Greg Scott (4-2) had a three-hitter through five innings for Foothill (12-6, 6-2). Scott Barton was three for four with three RBIs, Todd Delnoce was three for three with two RBIs and Courtney Keyler was two for two with three RBIs for Foothill.

Santa Ana 7, Canyon 3 (9 innings)--Santa Ana (11-7, 6-2) scored four runs in the top of the ninth for the victory at Canyon. Greg Barraza had a two-run single in the inning.

Villa Park 2, El Modena 1 (8 innings)--Trent Eye’s bases-loaded single drove home Aaron Boone for the winner at Villa Park. Chris Johnson pitched shutout ball for five innings, and Marcus Esposito allowed an unearned run in three innings for Villa Park (9-9, 4-4). Eye and Grant Stephens each had a single and a double for Villa Park. Jason Wakefield had two hits for El Modena (6-2 in league play).

Brethren 10, Capistrano Valley Christian 3--Chris Beck had three hits, including a home run, and scored three runs for Brethren (5-10, 2-5).

Santa Margarita 12, Ontario Christian 3--Host Santa Margarita (6-8, 3-4) got a balanced attack from Jeff Bradley, who had a triple and four runs batted in, Mike Allen, who hit a solo home run, and Tim Markel and Danny Ball, both of whom had two doubles.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Laguna Hills 12, Costa Mesa 8--Rob Milo and Joe Bennett each had two hits and two RBIs for Laguna Hills (15-4, 7-1) at Costa Mesa. Milo (4-0) also pitched 5 1/3 innings for the victory.

Trabuco Hills 14, Laguna Beach 2--Dave Lowery had three hits, including a home run, and four RBIs and John Shetland had four hits and three RBIs for Trabuco Hills (10-4, 7-1) at Laguna Beach.