HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP : Coronado Beats St. Augustine, Closes on First

St. Augustine High is still in the driver’s seat, but Coronado just forced the driver to take a closer look in the rear-view mirror.

The City Harbor League teams were already familiar with one another before Tuesday, having met twice in league and once in the Lion’s Tournament, with St. Augustine winning twice. But Coronado evened the series, scoring three runs in the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie and give the Islanders a clutch, 6-3 victory that kept them in the league race.

Coronado jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, then watched St. Augustine’s creep back into the game with single runs in the second, third and sixth.

“I told them before the game that three (runs) wouldn’t win it,” Coronado Coach Ron Smock said.

By winning, Coronado (14-7-1, 6-3) bought some time in its attempt to catch St. Augustine (13-0, 7-2). There are three games left.

“This gives us some momentum,” Smock said. “This was a big win for us. We could have folded, but we hung in there.”

No one hung tighter than Smock’s son, Kyle, a freshman who had struck out twice and popped to second in his first three at-bats. With one out in the seventh, Smock, the first batter to face reliever George Inzunza, hit a ball hard to left field, and it took a Coronado drop for a double. Jason Fledderjohn was intentionally walked, and Joel Franklin hit a triple to right, scoring Smock and Fledderjohn. Franklin scored the final run on a wild pitch.

“When the little guy can come in and get a double like that, that tells the other guys something,” said Ron Smock, whose son is 5-feet-4.

Mike (Buck) Bryant pitched 6 1/3 innings for the Saints and gave up three runs on five hits before Inzunza, who shut out Coronado, 2-0, the last time they played, came in.

“We got some clutch hitting. We didn’t let up,” said Fledderjohn, who pitched an eight-hitter, singled twice, walked twice and scored twice.

Coronado’s other league losses were to Marian Catholic and Clairemont, both teams they must meet again.

“We can’t panic,” said Mike Stephenson, St. Augustine coach. “We just need to execute a little better.”

St. Augustine still has the enviable league-leading record, something Stephenson finds relief in.

“I’d rather be in our position than theirs,” he said. “We don’t have to depend on anyone but ourselves, and they need help from someone else. We don’t have to worry about that.”