Southern Section Baseball Playoffs : A Year Later, Kennedy’s Hansell Gets Another Shot Against Laguna Hills

The play has haunted Kennedy High School pitcher Greg Hansell for a year.

Hansell was facing perennial playoff participant Laguna Hills in the first inning of Kennedy’s first playoff game in 13 years.

A line drive hit Hansell’s pitching hand and caromed to the left of the mound. Visibly stunned, Hansell still managed to pick up the ball, but he threw wildly past first baseman Pete Montera.

Laguna Hills eventually scored three unearned runs in the inning (a fourth run was earned) en route to an 8-5 victory in the first round of the Southern Section 3-A division playoffs.

Today, Hansell (11-1) gets another opportunity when he starts against Laguna Hills at 3:15 in La Palma in the quarterfinals of the 3-A playoffs.

“All Greg had to do was underhand the ball to Pete, and we were out of the inning with Laguna Hills scoring only one run,” said Chris Pascal, Kennedy’s coach. “Instead, they got three more runs, and we never recovered.”

But Kennedy (22-5) recovered well enough this season to earn a rematch with fourth-seeded Laguna Hills (24-4), which finished as the top-ranked team in Orange County.

Kennedy’s best showing in the playoffs has been keyed by quick starts. Kennedy scored two runs in the first inning in a 6-2 victory over Bonita, then duplicated the first-inning production in a 6-4 victory over Canyon Country Canyon on Tuesday.

“The fact that three of our key players (Hansell, Montera and Craig Roah) went through the football playoffs has been a steadying influence on the team,” Pascal said. “But we’re well aware that we’re facing the best team in the county.

Laguna Hills, which has five future Division I players in the lineup, has won 21 of its past 22 games. Center fielder Chris Sheff, who has signed with Pepperdine, is the county’s career hit leader with 129.

First baseman Rob Milo, who has signed with Stanford, was voted the most valuable player in the Pacific Coast League after batting .489 and winning five games as a pitcher.

In other 3-A games:

Saugus (21-4-2) at Estancia (21-6): Saugus starting pitcher Roger Salkeld, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound right-hander, is rated among the top prep pitchers in the nation by most scouting services and figures to be a top draft choice.

Salkeld (11-0) struck out 139 in 82 innings during the regular season and has a save and a victory in the playoffs. Outfielder Darren Davis has 28 stolen bases and shortstop Scott Warr has six home runs.

Estancia advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in 17 years under Coach Ken Millard by rallying for five runs with two outs in the seventh inning to gain a 9-7 victory over Corona Tuesday.

Shortstop Jason White, who jammed his wrist in a first-round game against Pacifica, is questionable. White had 19 stolen bases during the regular season. Second baseman Rob Nye’s first homer of the season was the difference against Corona.

In the 5-A division:

Tustin (20-8) at Palmdale (14-10): Tustin Coach Vince Brown is anticipating an “intimidating situation” when his team travels to the upper desert. “Their players and their fans do their best to rattle opposing players,” Brown said.

Tustin has its own intimidating tactic, “the barking dogs.” The Tillers bark at opposing pitchers from the dugout in crucial situations. Starting pitcher Monte Jones, 11-2 with 130 strikeouts, also can be intimidating on the mound.

Sophomore right fielder Shawn Green had three hits in Tustin’s 3-2 upset victory over top-seeded Artesia in the second round. Palmdale third baseman Jason Priske is batting .406 with six homers.

El Dorado (20-8) at Mater Dei (22-5): Surprisingly, these perennial playoff teams have never met in the postseason. Tony Pena, who has won 22 games in the past two years, will oppose El Dorado’s Pete Janicki. Pena has signed with Arizona State and Janicki is headed to UCLA.

El Dorado has four players--first baseman Matt Luke (California), shortstop Phil Nevin (CS Fullerton), catcher Bruce Petillo (University of Pacific) and Janicki (UCLA)--who have signed with Division I schools.

El Dorado was the top-ranked team in the county’s preseason polls, but “never put it all together” during the season, according to Coach Steve Gullotti. “The pitching has been good all year long,” Gullotti said.

Coach Bob Ickes’ son, Rob, has driven in five of the Monarchs’ 12 runs with three doubles and leadoff hitter Greg Carl is five for seven in the playoffs.

In the 4-A division:

South Hills (18-7) at Mission Viejo (20-6): Mission Viejo has scored 23 runs in two playoff games while South Hills has allowed only one run in a wild-card game and two playoff games.

Designated hitter Damon Hubbart is six for 11 in the last three games and has driven in six runs for Mission Viejo. Shortstop Eric Ekdahl is five for seven in the playoffs with three runs scored.

Mission Viejo is coming off an emotional 12-11 victory over Santa Ana in which the Diablos rallied four times in seven innings to erase leads and then nearly lost a 12-8 lead disappear in the last inning.

“It was the most draining game I’ve ever been involved in,” said Ron Drake, Mission Viejo’s coach. “I felt like a piece of spaghetti when it was over.”