BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Estancia Takes Advantage of Laguna Hills’ Errors to Score Early, Often

Estancia built a nine-run lead after three innings and cruised to an 11-1 victory over host Laguna Hills Tuesday in a game between the top teams in the Pacific Coast League.

Estancia (12-5, 8-2) scored five runs in the second inning when Laguna Hills committed three errors and added four more runs in the third despite getting only five hits in the two innings.

Laguna Hills starter Ted Wilkes (3-1) allowed eight runs and walked five in 2 2/3 innings and was the victim of four errors. Estancia shortstop Ruben Mora had a two-run single in the second and a run-scoring single in the third to lead Estancia.

Designated hitter Brian Provenzano belted a two-run homer to center field in the fourth inning to give Estancia an imposing 11-0 lead. Estancia starter Chris Watson (7-1) struck out seven and allowed only two hits in four innings for the win.

Estancia was coming off Friday’s 3-1 loss to Century in which the Eagles committed four errors and fell out of first place.

“Our defense caved in and the same thing happened to Laguna Hills today,” said Ken Millard, Estancia coach. “It’s the nature of baseball. Laguna Hills’ play was unexplainable, just like our play was unexplainable last Friday.”

Laguna Hills (12-7, 8-2), which broke into the Orange County Sportswriters’ Assn. top 10 this week for the first time this season, managed only an unearned run off relief pitcher Kyle Wilson in the sixth inning.

The loss stopped the Hawks’ six-game winning streak and was their second to Estancia this season. The Eagles defeated Laguna Hills, 5-3, in the first round of league play. The teams meet again Friday at Estancia with first place in the six-team league at stake.

In other Pacific Coast League games:

Century 3, Costa Mesa 2 (11 innings)--Nick Garcia hit a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the eleventh to break a 1-1 tie for Century. Tom Reimers (3-2), who doubled in Century’s first run in the second inning, pitched the final three innings to earn the victory for the Centurions (4-13, 3-7). Costa Mesa’s Pat Quinn pitched 10 innings, allowing only one run on six hits with nine strikeouts.

Trabuco Hills 8, Laguna Beach 6 (eight innings)--Mike Parker hit a home run in the top of the eighth inning and Trabuco Hills added one more for the victory. Steve Height (3-2) pitched 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, striking out five, for the Mustangs (8-9, 5-5).

In the Academy League:

Liberty Christian 23, St Michael’s 8 (five innings)--Jeremy Anderson’s third-inning two-run homer highlighted a 19-hit attack for visiting Liberty Christian (10-6, 2-2).

In the Century League:

El Modena 3, Foothill 2--Anthony Viramontes singled with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh to drive in the winning run for host El Modena (11-5, 8-2).

Canyon 4, Villa Park 3--Rory O’Leary and Ryan Puskas each had run-scoring singles and O’Leary scored on a wild pitch in the third inning to give host Canyon (10-8-1, 5-5) a 4-1 lead.

Orange 4, Santa Ana Valley 3--Jeff Peterson’s two-run home run in the top of the seventh provided the winning margin for Orange (5-11, 3-7).

In the Olympic League:

Whitney 10, Capistrano Valley Christian 4--Jihan Kim drove in six runs with a three-run homer, two doubles and a single to lead host Whitney (12-4, 6-3).

Ayala 10, Orange Lutheran 9--Orange Lutheran scored six runs in the sixth inning and had the potential tying and winning runs on second and third in the seventh inning. Dale Huss had two hits and scored three runs for Orange Lutheran (10-7, 5-4). Bill Reed had three hits, including a homer in the first inning, and four RBIs for Ayala (7-6, 4-5).

Whittier Christian 16, Ontario Christian 0--Sophomore Ila Borders (5-1) threw a two-hitter with nine strikeouts for host Whittier Christian (11-5, 7-2). David Whitby had three triples and four RBIs, and Steve Rojas and Steve Little had two hits each.

In the Sunset League:

Ocean View 8, Santa Ana 2--Rich Crowe and Randy Karliner hit home runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to propel Ocean View to its ninth consecutive victory. It was the fifth homer of the season for Crowe, who hit a two-run homer, and the fourth for Karliner, who hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run inning. Karliner (6-2) pitched three innings of relief, striking out four and walking none, for the Seahawks (12-7, 6-2).

Fountain Valley 9, Edison 8--Derek Brown hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning for Fountain Valley (19-4, 7-1).

Westminster 9, Marina 8--In the bottom of the sixth inning, Westminster’s Kirk Pierce had a two-run double to tie the score, 8-8, and Greg Cantin squeezed home Eric Calvo with the winning run.