Prep Baseball Roundup : Anaheim Completes Turnaround

Anaheim High School, which struggled to win one game only two years ago in the Orange League, came full circle Wednesday with a 16-6 victory over Valencia that clinched a tie for the league championship.

Anaheim (15-8 overall, 11-1 in league) collected 17 hits and took advantage of 12 walks and a two hit batsmen to become the first county school to clinch a league title.

What’s more, Anaheim is assured of the league’s No. 1 berth even if it losses its final four games because of its two victories over second-place Western.

“These are basically the same kids who went 4-21 as sophomores, so they’ve experienced both ends of the spectrum,” said Dave Torres, the coach responsible for turning around the program. Anaheim had won the league title in 1981.

“We were the joke of the league two years ago,” Torres said. “The players deserve this title. They worked their tails off over the past two years.”

Anaheim scored eight runs in the third inning to earn its 10th consecutive victory. Second baseman John Barber led the hit parade with five consecutive hits before flying out in the seventh. He also scored four runs.

Valencia (10-8, 5-7) continued to fade as quickly as its plush outfield grass that hasn’t been watered in two weeks. The Tigers have lost five of their past six games since five players quit the team, including their best player, Keef Leasure.

“We were a pretty good team two weeks ago,” said Kevin McConnell, Valencia coach. “But three starters quit, and we’ve gone downhill ever since. We beat Anaheim, 11-4, in the first round, but we were never close today.”

Valencia did get 12 hits off three pitchers, including 11 through five innings.

Barber wasn’t the only player who had a big day for Anaheim. Winning pitcher Danny Castro (3-0) hit a two-run double in the third and added a two-run single in the sixth when Anaheim scored four runs.

Designated hitter Ryan Jara highlighted a four-run inning in the sixth with a two-run homer over the right-field fence. Center fielder David Angel had three hits.

In another Orange League game:

Western 11, Brea-Olinda 4--Troy Babbitt hit a two-run home run in the first inning and singled in two more runs in the third for Western (13-9, 8-4) at Brookhurst Park. Brea-Olinda is 9-12, 5-7.

In the Angelus League:

Mater Dei 1, St. Paul 0--Scott Corliss (7-1) pitched a two-hitter with nine strikeouts for host Mater Dei (18-4, 8-1), which scored in the seventh. Jeff Ciccarella singled to open the inning. Jason Kirrer sacrificed and reached on a throwing error. Pinch-hitter Doug DeJardin walked to load the bases, and Vic Boyd singled in the winning run.

In the Freeway League:

Troy 10, Fullerton 5--Tom Wilson (8-0) allowed five runs in the first three innings but pitched a complete game for host Troy (14-6, 9-3). Wilson also hit a three-run home run for Troy (14-6, 9-3), which broke a 5-5 tie with five runs in the fourth. Jeff Burke hit a two-run home run in the fourth for Troy. Burke had two hits and three RBIs. Lee Green hit a two-run home run and John Bailey hit a solo home run for Fullerton (11-8-1, 8-4).

La Habra 11, Buena Park 2--Tim Moore had two hits, scored twice and had an RBI, and David Karaba had a two-run triple for host La Habra (10-8, 6-6).

In the Garden Grove League:

Kennedy 5, Garden Grove 0--Greg Hansell (9-1) pitched a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts for visiting Kennedy (10-1, 19-4), which tied a school record for victories in a season. Ernie Franco hit his sixth home run to tie the school’s single-season home run record. He also had two RBIs and scored two runs.

La Quinta 16, Los Amigos 2--Jason Parsons hit two triples, a double and a single, scored three runs and drove in two runs for visiting La Quinta (18-5-1, 8-3). La Quinta scored six runs in the fifth, three in the sixth and five in the seventh. Corey Giuliano (10-2) got the victory. James Johnson and Brian Peters had two hits, scored two runs and drove in three each for La Quinta.

Santiago 3, Bolsa Grande 1--Sean McCorry (4-6) pitched a five-hitter, striking out two, for Santiago (6-12-1, 5-6) at Bolsa Grande. Toby Ulemek (4-6) pitched a five-hitter and didn’t allow an earned run. But the Matadors (10-11, 3-8) made three errors, which led to all of the Cavaliers’ runs.

In the Empire League:

Esperanza 20, Los Alamitos 2--Visiting Esperanza (8-8-2, 3-8-1) set a school record for runs in a single game. Dan Redington had five hits, scored four runs, and had two RBIs; Rich Hills had four hits, scored three runs and drove in three runs, and Jason Bond had three hits and scored three runs for Esperanza, which had 21 hits.

Esperanza scored five runs each in the first and second, two in the third, one in the fourth and seven in the seventh. The loss drops Los Alamitos into a three-way tie for second place with El Dorado and Katella.

Loara 8, Cypress 4--Matt Drager and Chris Hoffman each had two RBIs for the first-place Saxons (12-10, 9-3) at Loara. Czack Hallock had four hits and an RBI for Loara.

El Dorado 6, Katella 3 (11 innings)--El Dorado scored three runs, two on an error, in the 11th for visiting El Dorado at Boysen Park in Anaheim. Brandon Boone had a three-run double in the third for Katella. Pete Janicki pitched the final six innings for the victory.

In the Sea View League:

Tustin 1, Saddleback 0 (8 innings)--Ted Wiezzorek singled in Brian Gill in the bottom of the eighth inning to help first-place Tustin (15-7, 10-2) maintain a one-game lead over Estancia. Monte Jones struck out seven and gave up six hits for the victory.

University 5, Newport Beach 1--Kevin Squires (5-3) pitched a four-hitter with five strikeouts for host University (9-12-1, 6-6). Squires had two hits, scored three runs and stole two bases. Buu Aaron had two hits and drove in a run for University.

Estancia 9, Corona del Mar 2--Senior right-hander Gabe Javage (9-1) pitched a complete game at Corona del Mar. Catcher Bill Gomez had three hits, two RBIs and scored a run for Estancia (16-6, 9-3).

In the South Coast League:

Irvine 5, Dana Hills 2--John Bretza (3-5) pitched the first 6 2/3 inings for the victory. Kevin Obergfell got the final out for the save. Scott Brandino had a double for Irvine (11-11, 6-6), which was helped by Dana Hills’ six errors.

El Toro 3, Capistrano Valley 2--Rob Johnson pitched a four-hitter visiting Capistrano Valley.

San Clemente 3, Mission Viejo 2 (8 innings)--Mike Murphy singled to score Shane Coff in the eighth for host San Clemente (6-15, 5-7). Coff and Drew Anawalt opened the eighth with singles. Ken Dolan (2-6) pitched a seven-hitter with six strikeouts for San Clemente (6-15, 5-7). Mission Viejo is 15-6, 8-4.