High School Baseball Roundup : Mar Vista Fights Its Way Into Metro Conference Picture

A brief flashback, if you will, to the week before the Metro Conference baseball race began.

Prognosticators in the South Bay felt that Section 2-A runner-up and conference champion Castle Park would be a shoo-in to win the league’s baseball race.

Problem was, no one figured on unassuming Mar Vista. Who Vista? The other Vistas, Bonita and Chula, figured to be somewhere in the thick of things, but not Imperial Beaches’ little school by the bay.

“We don’t think about the race,” said Mar Vista Coach Alex Santana after watching his neophyte team--only two seniors are on the roster--defeat Montgomery, 7-5, at home Tuesday to move into a first-place tie with Castle Park.

“We take one game at a time,” said Santana. “We put our minds on whoever we’re playing at the time. Today our focus was Montgomery.”

That focus lost clarity on a number of occasions as the Mariners defense committed four errors to go with the Aztecs three.

But what Mar Vista gave up in the field, it got back at the plate and on the mound, much of it from junior Tim O’Neal.

O’Neal began the game at first base, but when Montgomery scored three runs in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead, Santana pulled starter Mick Martinez and sent in O’Neal.

In 3 1/3 innings of work--Martinez returned to the mound in in the seventh inning--O’Neal struck out seven, gave up four hits and, with the the game tied at 3, squirmed out of a fourth-inning jam with two outs and the bases loaded.

“I’ve faced a lot of situations like that,” O’Neal said. “I kind of like it. It puts pressure on me. If they need me, I come in. Sometimes I do it, sometimes I don’t.”

This was one of the times he did it. O’Neal has pitched only two complete games, but has a 6-4 record and is undefeated in the league (6-0).

“O’Neal did a great job coming in,” Santana said. “He just shut them down.”

Mar Vista’s bats came alive and Montgomery’s gloves didn’t in the fourth inning, when Mar Vista scored four runs to take a 7-3 lead and some of the pressure off O’Neal.

Jim Gruber singled and Steve Loaiza forced him at second for the first out. Richard Vega got on base on the shortstop’s fielding error, with Loaiza advancing to second. Juan Sanchez’ ground ball was bobbled by the second baseman, scoring Loaiza with Vega stopping at third.

Francisco Mondragon grounded to the pitcher and George Garcia was intentionally walked to load the bases. Up stepped O’Neal, who had a 16 game-hitting streak on the line.

No problem. O’Neal hit the 3-2 pitch deep to centerfield for a double, clearing the bases.

Mar Vista (9-10-1, 7-2) began the season 1-10 and has now won eight of its last 10 games.

“The key to the turnaround,” Santana said, “is effort. These guys are a bunch of bulldogs. They don’t quit.”