High School Baseball Roundup : Castle Park Starts Fast to Defeat Mar Vista

The first cut is often the deepest, and so it was when Mar Vista played Castle Park Thursday in Metro Conference baseball game.

Going in, the teams were tied for the league lead at 8-3. But in what may have determined the conference title, seventh-ranked Castle Park defeated Mar Vista, 9-1, thanks mostly to a five-run first inning.

The Trojans (23-5-1, 9-3) now have a one-game lead over Mar Vista (10-12-1, 8-4) with two games remaining.

“We’re starting to come back,” Castle Park Coach Bob Korzep said. “This is a good sign at the right time.”

After a three-game slide, the Trojans moved when they had to Tuesday, beating Montgomery. They needed to make it two in a row against Mar Vista.

“It’s hard to convince a high school kid that you have to battle each time you go out,” Korzep said. “They’d just show up to play. Once you get into that, you start sliding, and it’s hard to put the brakes back on.”

Consider the brakes to be on.

In the first inning, Chris Morris led off with a infield single. Juan Pena walked, and a Tim O’Neal’s wild pitch advanced both Morris and Pena. With runners on second and third, Benji Gil flied to center, scoring Morris.

Jackie Sosa reached on the shortstop’s throwing error, which advanced Pena to third. Sosa took second on a wild pitch, and Joe Carrillo walked to load the bases. Juan Beltran walked to score Pena, and then Hector Mejia walked to score Sosa.

With the Trojans up, 3-0, with one out, Jose Morabe doubled deep to center, scoring Carrillo and Beltran. Mar Vista Coach Alex Santana pulled O’Neal and replaced him with Miguel Martinez, who immediately hit Conrad Ganitano with a pitch.

Mar Vista finally got out of the inning when Morris grounded into a double play. The damage: five runs on two hits, one error, two left, four walks, two wild pitches and one hit batter.

“You take away that first inning, and you have a ballgame,” Santana said. “Tim just wasn’t on.”

Beltran (7-3) went the distance, striking out 11 (to tie a career high) and allowing five hits. He said the offensive production was a matter of Castle Park’s batters waiting for the right pitches.

“We worked the pitcher and were more selective in what we hit,” he said.

Mar Vista’s only run was on a homer to left by O’Neal in the second inning. Castle Park scored twice in the third and once in the fifth and seventh innings.

Beltran now figures Castle Park is on track for a conference title and playoffs.

“The worst is behind us,” he said. “Before we were getting all the breaks, and our heads got swollen. Now our work habits are getting better.”