SUNSET LEAGUE BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Edison Rides Big Inning to Victory
Paul Harrell, Edison High School’s baseball coach, watched Marina commit two errors and walk five batters in the first inning . . . and thought he was watching his own team.
“We went through that our last two games, so I know how their coach must feel,” Harrell said after Edison ended a two-game losing streak with a 9-2 victory Friday at Marina in Sunset League play.
Edison (6-3 and 1-2 in league play) sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs in the first inning. Shortstop Mike Cunningham belted a three-run double to right-center field for the Chargers.
Marina starter David Schultz (2-1) walked five in the inning and all five eventually scored.
“I was thinking before the game started that we’re too good of a team to be 0-2 in league,” Harrell said. “We played today like we’re capable of playing. We got some timely hits, a couple of double plays and some fine pitching by Donnie Smith.”
Smith (2-0) was projected as Edison’s No. 4 pitcher, but the senior right-hander allowed only two unearned runs and three hits against a good hitting team.
Marina (3-5-1, 1-2) scored its only runs in the second inning, when Cunningham failed to field a sharp ground ball, allowing two unearned runs to score.
Smith held Marina’s outstanding hitter, Marc Newfield, hitless in three at-bats and got Newfield to hit into a double play in the third inning. Newfield came into the game batting .545 with three home runs.
“Donnie kept the ball down on him and kept him off the bases, which I thought was a big key in this game,” Harrell said. “Donnie is a battler and his complete game was just what we needed.”
Marina reliever Sean Patterson shut down Edison after the first inning, allowing only one run on a balk. Patterson had experienced a similar outing to Schultz’s in his last time on the mound, allowing four runs in the first inning against Huntington Beach.
Afterward, Marina Coach Paul Renfrow emphasized the importance of good pitching if his team hopes to contend for the league title in its next 12 games.
“The way I figure it, we won, 2-1, in the last six innings,” Renfrow said. “The first inning killed us. We seem to play the way our pitchers pitch. When we got down by eight, it affected the whole team mentally. It’s difficult to overcome.”
Ocean View 6, Huntington Beach 4--Ocean View squeezed home two runs and reliever Duane Page earned a save by retiring the side in the seventh for the host Seahawks (8-2, 3-0).
Curtis Bruce and Eric Schaff each squeezed home a run as starter Jim Gwaltney (5-0) pitched 5 2/3 innings for the win. Bruce had two hits, stole three bases and scored three runs.
Westminster 3, Fountain Valley 1--Senior shortstop Chris Larson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth to give Westminster a 2-1 lead. Bob Gonzales pitched a seven-hitter, striking out 10 and allowing two walks, for Westminster (3-7, 1-2). Derek Fahs pitched a two-hitter, striking out nine, but hit four batters and gave up a triple and home run for Fountain Valley (4-6, 1-2).