PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Wood Leads Kennedy to Tournament Title

A simple batting tip from the great grandson of Hall of Famer Ty Cobb was just what Kennedy High School designated hitter Scott Wood needed.

Ty Cobb III, a former coach at Cypress High School, suggested last week that Wood back off the plate. The adjustment has resulted in three home runs in his past two games.

Wood hit a two-run homer, doubled and drove in three runs Saturday at spacious Glover Stadium as Kennedy won the 17th Anaheim Lions Club tournament with a 6-3 victory over Fullerton.

Kennedy (11-7) claimed its first tournament title since 1982 by scoring five runs in the fifth inning and getting some fine relief pitching by Richard Lyon. Lyon was named the tournament’s most valuable player after pitching in three games in which he got a win and a save.

Fullerton freshman Keith Ginter had pitched a shutout for four innings before walking two batters and allowing three hits in the fifth, including Wood’s deep drive over the left-field fence.

Fullerton (8-8) scored a run in the fourth inning on Ginter’s line single to left and threatened in the seventh by loading the bases with one out. Fullerton scored two runs in the last inning, but Lyon retired the final two batters to end the game.

Afterward, Kennedy Coach Chris Pascal said he hopes the four victories in the tournament turn his young team around.

“Right now, I feel great,” Pascal said. “It seems we play well, then we struggle. We’re starting to realize that we can play with some of the best teams in the county. We’ve gotten 49 hits in our last four games.”

Starter Scott Jones (3-3) was impressive early for Kennedy, striking out six of the first nine batters he faced. Kennedy got 11 hits in the game, including two each by Wood and leadoff batter Robert Lander.

In the consolation championship:

Garden Grove 10, Savanna 1--Joe Aguirre hit a single, double and triple and allowed only two hits in four innings to earn his third victory for Garden Grove (7-6). Aguirre finished the week with 10 hits, nine runs scored, four runs batted in, three triples and struck out 10 batters in two victories.

In the third-place game:

Troy 3, Sunny Hills 1--Steve Friedrich hit a three-run homer to center, his 10th of the year, in the third inning for Troy (11-4). Brandon Avey pitched a four-hitter for Troy. Sunny Hills is 12-5.

In Sunset League baseball:

Ocean View 10, Edison 0--Seth Bartels (3-1) pitched his second consecutive shutout and he hasn’t given up a run in his last 17 innings as Ocean View won at Edison. Bartels allowed three hits, struck out four and walked none. Kevin Bill, Rich Crowe, Matt Musselmann and Randy Karliner each hit home runs for Ocean View (9-7, 3-2), which has won six consecutive games.

Fountain Valley 2, Westminster 1--Rob Fisher (4-0) pitched a three-hitter and struck out six for host Fountain Valley (17-3, 5-0). Paul Zazula had two hits, including a run-scoring triple in the fifth inning.

In the Santa Ana Elks tournament consolation round:

Santa Ana 3, Century 0--Robert Pedroza (3-0) pitched a five-hitter, struck out five and walked none for Santa Ana (10-5). John Morales had a two-run single in the sixth for Santa Ana.

Saddleback 12, Orange 5--Luis Estrella had four hits and three RBIs, Ralph Lopez had three hits and one RBI and David Madrid had two hits and two RBIs for host Saddleback (8-7-1).

In the Pride of the Coast tournament:

Marina 7, La Mirada 5--Matt Hay hit a bases-loaded single to score two runs in the fifth inning for host Marina (9-8) in a championship bracket second-round game. Hay had two hits and three RBIs on the day.

Corona del Mar 9, El Modena 6--Greg Prough hit a three-run home run to cap a six-run first inning for host Corona del Mar (5-7-1) in the second round of the consolation bracket. Todd Kehrli hit a leadoff home run in the fourth inning and Dan McMillan got the victory in four innings of relief for Corona del Mar.

Estancia 5, Orange Lutheran 1--Colby French (3-1) pitched a three-hitter and struck out five for host Estancia (10-4) in a championship quarterfinal game. Steve King had two hits and French had a hit, scored, and had two RBIs.