HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL ROUNDUP : EL Capitan Sets Aside Good-Neighbor Policy

El Capitan never needs much motivation to play rival Santana, which is located less than five miles away.

But it got some any way.

“I’d be lying if Santana’s 10-0 record didn’t get our kids a little more fired up than usual,” El Capitan Coach Steve Vickery said.

Sufficiently motivated, El Capitan put on its hitting and running shoes and walked away with an easy 11-4 nonleague victory Friday over visiting Santana.

“We were glad we had a shot at getting them,” Vickery said. “They’re our neighbors and we would have had to listen to them all year.”

After the first inning, it appeared El Capitan (7-4) might be forced to listen to its neighbors as Santana took a 3-0 lead on Ferdi Hollis’ three-run home run to left.

But after an uneventful first inning, El Capitan sent 14 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs in the second.

El Capitan chased Santana starter Tom Weinbrecht with pitcher David Rios’ two-run double over the left fielder’s head, making it 3-2.

Jerry Potts relieved Weinbrecht, but was unable to retire a batter. He immediately threw two wild pitches to score two runs, then gave up a walk, a two-run single to El Capitan’s Jim Marchesi and another walk.

Catcher Robert Ervin replaced Potts, but was greeted by a two-run double down the right-field line by Greg Ransweiler. After a sacrifice fly by Jeep Tharp scored Ransweiler, Andy Cleland walked, stole second, advanced to third on a error by the shortstop and stole home.

Rios (4-0) settled down after the first inning and did not allow a run until the sixth when he tired.

“They say he doesn’t have good stuff, but all he does is win,” Vickery said.

El Capitan scored its last run in the fourth on Cleland’s RBI single.

The game was called after 5 1/2 innings because of darkness.