Prep Baseball Roundup : Garden Grove Knocks Pacifica From First-Place Tie

Ben Walker pitched a five-hitter to lead Garden Grove High School to a 4-2 upset of Pacifica in a Garden Grove League baseball game Wednesday at Garden Grove.

The loss drops Pacific (10-9 overall and 7-2 in league play) out of a first-place tie with Kennedy, which defeated Santiago, 3-2, Wednesday.

Darell Rall and Rob Wursthorn had back-to-back doubles as Garden Grove (6-10-1, 2-7) scored three runs in the second inning. Shawn Zingali had three hits and an RBI for Garden Grove, which scored another run in the sixth. Pacifica scored its runs in the fourth.

In other Garden Grove League games:

Kennedy 3, Santiago 2--Pete Montera hit a home run in the seventh to break a 2-2 tie for visiting Kennedy (17-4, 8-1), which moved into sole possession of first place.

Montera (8-1) also pitched a complete game and had 13 strikeouts, a Kennedy single-game record. Steve Rath had two hits and an RBI for Kennedy. Marco Perez had two hits including a double for Santiago (8-9-1, 4-5).

La Quinta 11, Bolsa Grande 4--Corey Geuliano (8-2) pitched a six-hitter to lead host La Quinta (16-5-1, 6-3), which moved within a game of second-place Pacifica. Jason Cherms had three hits and two RBIs, and Jason Parsons had two hits, including his seventh home run, for La Quinta.

Rancho Alamitos 9, Los Amigos 5--Visiting Rancho Alamitos broke a 2-2 tie with five runs in the fourth inning. Rancho Alamitos is 10-8, 4-5. Los Amigos is 5-16, 2-7.

In the Angelus League:

Servite 7, Bishop Amat 6--Mark Tacconelli’s one-out single scored Ed Crippin with one out in the seventh to break a 6-6 tie for host Servite (10-10-1, 3-6). Chad Troxel (4-5) picked up the victory. Tom Jacobs had two doubles and two RBIs and Rob Walker had two hits, including a double, and scored two runs for Servite.

In the Freeway League:

Troy 14, La Habra 4--Troy trailed, 4-3, in the seventh but rallied for 11 runs at La Habra. Darby Carmichael had a single with the bases loaded to drive in the tying and go-ahead runs for Troy in the seventh. Troy had 13 hits in the game, eight in the seventh inning.

Tom Wilson had three hits, and two RBIs, Carmichael had two hits and three RBIs, and Brad Zeppieri had two hits and two RBIs for Troy (13-5, 8-2). Wilson (7-0) also pitched a six-hitter for the victory. La Habra is 7-8, 4-6.

Fullerton 12, Sonora 9--Chris Rubal had three hits and scored three runs to lead Fullerton (10-7-1, 7-3). Ladd Brunner drove in two runs in Fullerton’s five-run first inning.

In the Orange League:

Western 9, Valencia 7 (9 innings)--Don Norris, who went two for five, doubled in the winning run in the ninth for Western (11-9, 6-4) at Valencia. Troy Babbitt went four for five with two home runs and earned the victory as well, giving up one hit and striking out three in the final two innings.

Magnolia 7, Brea-Olinda 6--Jay Portillo walked with the bases loaded and one out to break to a 6-6 tie for host Magnolia (6-14, 3-7). Brea is 8-11, 4-6.

In the Sea View League:

Saddleback 4, Corona del Mar 3--Saddleback (10-10, 6-4) scored two runs in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. Harvey Perez had a double to drive in the tying run and later scored the winning run on a wild pitch. Greg Haack hit a two-run home run with one out in the fifth to give Corona del Mar a 3-2 lead.

Saddleback starter Mike Arroyos then retired the final eight hitters he faced to get the victory. Arroyos (5-3) had nine strikeouts. Corona del Mar is 6-13, 3-7.

Estancia 11, Newport Harbor 3--Jason White had two hits, four stolen bases, and four runs scored for Estancia (14-6, 7-3) at Newport Harbor. Rob Nye and Mark Hartley each had two hits and two RBIs for the Eagles. Gabe Javage (7-1) pitched a seven-hitter for the victory. Bob Sliker had two hits and an RBI for Newport Harbor.

In the South Coast League:

Capistrano Valley 8, Dana Hills 3--Buster Nietzke went three for three with three RBIs and a home run, and David Guillen went two for four with a grand slam to lead the Cougars (14-6, 7-3).

Mission Viejo 4, Irvine 1--Jeff Hawkins (1-0) pitched a two-hitter for visiting Mission Viejo (14-5, 7-3). John Hayes hit a two-run homer and Lance Sabella and Steve Rooten each had RBI singles for the Diablos. Scott Volmer had an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the first for Irvine (10-10, 5-5).

San Clemente 13, El Toro 6--Matt Folsum went three for four with five RBIs, Shane Shanafelt had three RBIs and Tim Gorman went three for four with an RBI to lead San Clemente (4-15, 3-7) at El Toro. San Clemente had 18 hits.