Prep Baseball : Roundup : El Modena Hits Back With 9-Run Inning to Defeat Santa Ana

El Modena High School scored nine runs in the fourth inning and knocked Santa Ana out of first place with a 10-8 Century League victory Friday at El Modena.

The victory puts El Modena (11-9 overall, 9-4 in league play) in a tie for second place with Santa Ana (14-9, 9-4). Both teams trail Foothill by a game.

El Modena trailed, 7-1, after three innings but sent 15 batters to the plate in the fourth. Jason Wakefield and Mike Vermillion each had two-run doubles and Matt Newbrand a two-run single in the inning.

Newbrand and Marcus Esposito each had two hits.

The Saints scored four runs in the first. Octavio Medina and Julio Vargas had solo home runs in the inning. Medina had three hits and Vargas two.

In other Century League games:

Foothill 12, Villa Park 2--Kent Donnelly and Eric Garcia were each three for four to lead visiting Foothill. Donnelly had a double and an RBI and Garcia scored three runs and knocked in two more for Foothill (16-7, 10-3). Villa Park is 6-7 in league play.

Canyon 9, Santa Ana Valley 3--Dan Puskas had two hits and four RBIs for the Comanches (10-13, 5-8) at Canyon. Brent Holmes had three hits and scored three runs for Canyon. Santa Ana Valley is 1-19 and 0-13.

In the Academy League:

St. Margaret’s 6, Heritage 4--Kevin Islam had two hits, including a grand slam, and five RBIs for St. Margaret’s (6-8, 5-3) at Cook Park in San Juan Capistrano.

In the Empire League:

El Dorado 8, Katella 0--Matt Luke pitched a three-hitter over six innings to lead host El Dorado. Luke had six strikeouts and did not walks a batter for El Dorado (16-8, 8-5). Bruce Petillo had a three-run homer and Phil Nevin was two for three with four RBIs. Petillo and Nevin have six homers apiece this season.

Esperanza 6, Los Alamitos 2--Jason Bates was two for three with two steals and scored two runs to lead host Esperanza (10-9-2, 4-8-1). Los Alamitos falls to 7-6 in league play.

Loara 5, Cypress 2--Eric Smith (5-3) pitched a five-hitter, striking out three for Loara (13-10, 10-3) at Cypress. Smith is 5-0 in league play. Andy Hall had two hits, including a triple and two RBIs for the Saxons. Cypress is 5-13-3 and 2-10-1.

In the Freeway League:

La Habra 11, Buena Park 2--David Stevens had a grand slam and Jamie Hutcherson a two-run homer for La Habra (11-8, 7-6) at Buena Park. The Coyotes are 3-15 and 1-12.

Sunny Hills 14, Sonora 3--John Montgomery had two hits and three RBIs and Jason Sugarman had three hits and two RBIs for the Lancers (17-7, 11-2) at Sunny Hills. Brent Smith had two hits, four runs scored and one RBI. Sonora is 6-16 and 2-11.

Troy 13, Fullerton 9--Tom Wilson had four RBIs, including a three-run homer in the seventh to lead Troy at Fullerton. Matt Carter, who was two for three with three runs scored, also had a three-run homer and four RBIs for Troy (15-6, 10-3). Ladd Brunner had a two-run homer for Fullerton (11-9-1, 9-5).

In the Garden Grove League:

La Quinta 17, Garden Grove 1--James Johnson had two home runs and three RBIs for the Aztecs (19-5-1, 9-3) at La Quinta. Brian Peters had two hits, including a homer, and three RBIs and Corey Giuliano had a solo home run for La Quinta. Robbie Wursthorn had a home run on the game’s first pitch for Garden Grove (6-13-1, 2-10).

Los Amigos 7, Santiago 6--Dave Pearlman pitched Los Amigos to the victory, striking out eight at Santiago. He also had two hits, including a home run. Scott Kissell and David Smith hit homers for Santiago (8-14-1, 5-7).

Rancho Alamitos 2, Bolsa Grande 1--Chris Colbert (4-1) pitched a three-hitter, striking out five for the Vaqueros (12-9, 6-6) at Rancho Alamitos. Chris Singletary broke a 1-1 tie with a solo home run in the fifth. Paul Lee had Rancho Alamitos’ other RBI. Luis Cerda had an RBI for Bolsa Grande (10-12, 3-9).

In the Olympic League:

Capistrano Valley Christian 7, Ontario Christian 0--Brett Thomas (2-1) had a five-hit shutout for host Capistrano Valley Christian (8-12, 3-9). Brad Wilson was two for two with four RBIs and Aaron Martin went two for four with a home run for Capistrano Valley Christian. Ontario Christian is 3-15, 1-11.

In the Orange League:

Anaheim 10, Brea-Olinda 7--The Colonists (16-8, 12-1) scored four runs in the top of the sixth to take a 8-5 lead. Cesar Rojo led off the inning with a solo home run. John Barber, Ryan Harra and Jose Gonzalez also had RBIs in the inning. Barber had two hits, including a two-run homer, and four RBIs. Ed Garcia had three hits, including two home runs, and five RBIs for Brea-Olinda (9-13, 5-8).

In the Sea View League:

Estancia 10, Corona del Mar 2--At Estancia, the Eagles had 11 hits, six for extra bases. Bill Gomez was two for two with a home run and four RBIs. Len Herman was two for three with a double, a triple and two runs scored. Lance Ely was two for four with a two-run double and Jason White was two for three with two runs scored for Estancia (17-6, 10-3).

Saddleback 7, Tustin 6 (10 innings)--Ronnie Ramirez singled home J.J. Fejeran from third in the bottom of the 10th inning for Saddleback. Ramirez and Harvey Perez were each three for five for Saddleback (11-12, 7-6). Monty Jones was three for five and Dave Sagan was two for four for Tustin (10-3 in league).

University 22, Newport Harbor 2--The Trojans (10-12-1) had 15 hits at Newport Harbor. Dave Dieter had three hits, three RBIs and four runs scored. Aaron Butler had three hits and four RBIs. Al Marlinga had two hits and three RBIs. Jason Williams (3-7) pitched five innings, striking out four and allowing two runs, for the victory. Newport Harbor is 2-19 and 1-12.

In the South Coast League:

Capistrano Valley 5, El Toro 2--Mike Mosebrook (8-3) scattered eight hits for the victory. Mosebrook struck out four and walked only one. Doug Bame tied the score, 2-2, with a two-run homer in the third. Bame scored the go-ahead run in the sixth, as he singled and later scored on Jonathan Petke’s grounder. Chris Lugo had two hits for Capistrano Valley (15-8, 8-5). Sean Drinkwater had three hits for El Toro (14-10, 6-7).

Mission Viejo 10, San Clemente 3--Don Disbro’s two-run homer in the first inning keyed Mission Viejo’s victory at home. Disbro was two for three with three RBIs. Eric Ekdahl, Troy Kopp and Lance Sabella each had two hits and two RBIs for Mission Viejo (16-6, 9-4). San Clemente is 5-8 in league play.