LOARA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT : Dawkins Hits Two Homers for La Quinta

Walter Dawkins hit two home runs as La Quinta defeated Loara, 15-3, in a consolation bracket semifinal of the Loara baseball tournament Thursday.

Dawkins was four for four and had three runs batted in. In a fifth at-bat, Dawkins was intentionally walked, then purposely got himself caught in a rundown to allow a teammate to score.

La Quinta (3-1) led from the start after Dawkins hit a two-run home run in the first inning and a bases-empty homer in the seventh. He has homered three times in his past six at-bats.

In a championship semifinal:

Diamond Bar 6, Fountain Valley 5--Diamond Bar scored two runs in the fifth to win at Glover Stadium and advance to Saturday’s championship. Andy Smith doubled with bases loaded to drive in three runs in a four-run first inning for Diamond Bar, but the Barons rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth. Brian Ponchak had four hits, including three doubles and a triple, and drove in four runs for Fountain Valley.

In other Loara tournament games:

El Toro 1, Villa Park 0--Sophomore right-hander Marc VerWayne (1-0) pitched a six-hitter, striking out three and walking one for host El Toro (2-2).

Irvine 9, Laguna Hills 3--Ryan O’Toole, a sophomore making his first varsity start, allowed seven hits and walked two for visiting Irvine (3-1) in a consolation semifinal. Jason Minici hit a three-run home run in the first inning to start a five-run rally after two were out.

Huntington Beach 9, Newbury Park 4--James Marietti doubled, tripled, scored twice and had three RBIs for host Huntington Beach (1-2-1).

Dana Hills 7, Santiago 2--Albie Sukut (2-0) walked two, struck out five and allowed a run in four innings. Ryan Delfs had a double and a triple for the Dolphins (3-1).

Sunny Hills 17, Los Amigos 5--Erren O’Leary had four hits, including a double and a two-run home run in the first inning, and five RBIs for visiting Sunny Hills. Mark Veronda had three hits and four RBIs, and Scott Remick had three-run home run in third and pitched five innings, striking out seven, for Sunny Hills (2-2).

Ocean View 7, Magnolia 5--Curtis Bruce had two hits and scored twice, and Rich Crowe had two hits and scored one run for host Ocean View (2-2). Matt Musselmann hit a two-run home run in the second inning to tie the score, 3-3, for Ocean View.

Riverside North 11, Western 7--The score was tied, 7-7, in the top of the ninth when Manny Galvan had a two run single for what proved be the winning runs for North (1-3) at Brookhurst Park. Jeff Livingston had three hits, including a double and a triple, and had one RBI for Western (1-2-1).

Cypress 3, University 2 (eight innings)--Danny Flanagan scored in the bottom of the eighth on a throwing error after Keith Cobb’s sacrifice bunt.

Anaheim 11, Pacifica 2--Robert Serna had three hits, including two doubles, and four RBIs for visiting Anaheim (2-2).

Katella 8, Kennedy 0--Chris Reed pitched six innings, striking nine and allowing six hits and had two hits and two RBIs for Katella (2-2) at Boysen Park.