Southern Section Baseball Playoffs : El Dorado Gets Lift on Its Home Field, Defeats Nogales, 5-2

El Dorado High School defeated Nogales, 5-2, in the first round of the Southern Section 5-A baseball playoffs Friday, getting considerable help from a stiff breeze, a short porch and a kind glove.

Three of El Dorado’s runs came on home runs by Dave Moore and Matt Luke, both hit over El Dorado’s 315-foot right-field fence.

With two outs in the third and El Dorado (19-8) trailing, 2-0, second baseman Wayne Hefft singled. Moore, a right-handed hitter, took Nogales pitcher Bert Reyes’ pitch to right field. The ball, riding a strong breeze, seemed to confuse right fielder Tony Moreno, who turned several times while retreating. Moreno, his left arm stretched above his head, got his glove on the ball, but only long enough to punch it over the fence.

“He (Moreno) said he hit the fence just as he got his glove on the ball,” Nogales Coach John Romano said. “It just knocked the ball out of his glove. What can you do? It was just one of those things. I don’t think you can call it luck. We won 19 games this year, and they are definitely the best team we’ve played.”

Moore’s home run tied the score, 2-2. Luke’s solo home run, on Reyes’ first pitch to him in the fourth inning, gave El Dorado the lead for good. Like Moore’s, Luke’s home run was hit high in the air and got a nice push from the wind.

“That’s what happens here when the ball gets up in the air,” said Steve Gullotti, El Dorado coach. “I think Luke’s would have been out anyway, regardless of the wind, but Moore’s may have got some help.”

El Dorado got immeasurable assistance from pitcher Pete Janicki, who relieved starter Jay Hassel with Nogales (19-7) leading, 1-0, in the second inning.

After striking out the first batter of the game, Hassel walked Moreno, then gave up a double to Reyes. Moreno scored on Hassel’s wild pitch to Eddie Rodriguez.

Hassel walked the first two batters he faced in the second inning and was removed from the game. Janicki gave up an RBI single to Reyes, then went on to retire the next 14 batters. It wasn’t until two outs in the seventh, after striking out Nogales’ first two batters, that Janicki allowed another baserunner. This one was Manual Ochoa, who was hit by a pitch. But Janicki got Moreno to line out to Luke at first to end the game. Janicki struck out five.

“He (Janicki) did exactly what I expected him to do,” Gullotti said. “I thought if he could hold them, we could scrape out some runs.”

The first three came on the homers by Moore and Luke. El Dorado scored in the fifth on shortstop Phil Nevin’s fielder’s choice. El Dorado got its last run on right fielder Greg Fife’s single, which brought home Luke, who had led off the inning with an infield single.

El Dorado plays Arcadia in the second round on Tuesday.