PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP : New Baseball Coach at El Modena Couldn’t Ask for Anything More

Things are finally going Mike Finn’s way.

The 27-year-old got the English teaching job he wanted at El Modena High School and the varsity baseball coaching position.

And two months into his first season, Finn’s Vanguards lead the Century League race by one game, thanks to Tuesday’s 11-6 victory over host Orange.

“This is a great situation to step into,” Finn said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better first year.”

Finn inherited 14 seniors and nine returning players with varsity experience. The Vanguards are 9-5 and 6-2 in league.

All 18 of his players got into the game Tuesday.

“They’re a real disciplined group,” Finn said. “They’re mature players, so they execute well.”

Finn coached the junior varsity at El Modena four years ago, so he has worked with most of the current varsity players.

The Vanguards banged out 12 hits and sent nine batters to the plate in the fifth and sixth innings.

El Modena also played errorless defense, as left-hander Dan White (2-1) pitched six innings of two-hit, shutout ball before Orange broke loose for six runs on eight hits in the seventh.

Four of Orange’s eight hits in the seventh were doubles. Right-hander Darren Knudson relieved White with two outs, gave up two hits, then retired Josh Belovsky on a fly to center for the final out.

Orange, which swept Foothill last week to get back into the league race, dropped to 4-11, 2-6.

Most baffling to Orange Coach Ed Howard were the Panthers’ fundamental breakdowns. Orange committed three errors, and three El Modena runs scored on wild pitches.

“We had the same guys out on the field today that we had last week when we did everything right against Foothill,” Howard said. “I don’t understand it.”