PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Reimers Closes Fast to Make Angels’ Opener

Century High School pitcher Tom Reimers was getting antsy.

Reimers was scheduled to be at Anaheim Stadium for his first day on the job as a clubhouse attendant for the Angels. But he had another task to complete and was going to be late for the season opener.

Reimers was locked in a pitching duel with Laguna Hills reliever Brett Nista in the eighth inning with the score tied, 1-1, when his teammates finally scored twice to give visiting Century a 3-1 Pacific Coast League victory Tuesday.

Shortstop Nick Garcia’s two-run single to left off Nista with one out in the eighth was the winning hit for Century (3-4, 2-2 in league).

Reimers (3-2) spotted his fastball and mixed a few good changeups while pitching with a cap that had a good-luck message from Angel left-hander Chuck Finley written on the bill. Afterward, Reimers couldn’t hide the excitement of becoming a clubhouse attendant.

“I’ve watched the Angels on television, and now I’m going to be in the clubhouse working for them,” he said. “It’s like a dream come true.”

Granted, Reimers’ main job will be to set out players’ uniforms, arrange equipment and pick up soiled towels. But hey, this is the big leagues.

“It’s going to be a great experience,” he said. “I spent some time with Chuck Finley in the outfield before the Dodger game Sunday. I’m really excited tonight.”

So excited that Reimers retired Laguna Hills (6-5, 2-2) through five innings in a little less than an hour. He was trying to hold a 1-0 lead, but Laguna Hills managed to tie the score when third baseman Mike Messinger hit a long fly to center that scored Matt Stilson from third.

“I failed to challenge them in the sixth,” Reimers said. “I tried to spot the ball too much rather than throwing strikes and letting my defense take care of things. But overall, I was very happy with my performance today.”

Reimers, starting his third varsity season as a junior, allowed five hits and walked only one. Century Coach Rick Hayes said Reimers has lowered his earned-run average to less than 1.00.

Century didn’t commit an error, and Hayes said his team’s defensive is rapidly improving now that the Centurions have been able to practice regularly on their field. Heavy rains caused drainage problems on the field.

“We spent our first month on the junior varsity field, and then we had most of our preseason games rained out,” Hayes said. “But our school bought four new batting cages, so we’ve taken more swings at this point in the season than we did all of last year.”

In other Pacific Coast League games:

Trabuco Hills 12, Costa Mesa 6--T.J. Alvarez had a home run and three RBIs for visiting Trabuco Hills (8-3, 6-0). Matt Harber hit a grand slam in the fourth for Costa Mesa.

Estancia 9, Laguna Beach 0--Victor Ramirez hit a three-run home run in the first for visiting Estancia (6-4, 4-1).

In the Century League:

Villa Park 4, Foothill 3--Jay Johnson’s sixth-inning double drove in A.J. Strapp with the winning run for Villa Park (4-5-2, 2-2-2).

In the Empire League:

Cypress 4, Loara 3--Garret Vitale scored the wining run when Shane Sowers walked with the bases loaded for Cypress (6-6, 4-2).

El Dorado 7, Katella 2--John Street, Brian Loyd and Tyson DowDell hit home runs for host El Dorado (8-4, 4-2).

In the Sea View League:

Corona del Mar 7, Newport Harbor 4--Pitcher C.W. Ramsay struck out nine and had two hits, two runs scored and three stolen bases for the host Sea Kings.

Saddleback 3, University 0--Tony Zuniga threw a two-hitter for host Saddleback (10-2, 5-1).

In the South Coast League:

Capistrano Valley 1, Dana Hills 0--Mel Morse hit a sixth-inning double to drive in Scott Shone with the game’s only run. Ethan Wyckoff threw a two-hitter, striking out eight, for host Capistrano Valley, (10-2, 6-0).

El Toro 9, San Clemente 8 (10 innings)--Chris Wiggins hit a double to score Dave Archuletta with the winning run for El Toro.

In the Sunset League:

Huntington Beach 1, Fountain Valley 0--Howard Clark tripled to lead off the seventh and then scored the winning run on a single by Bryan Feathers for host Huntington Beach (12-1, 4-1).

Santa Ana 6, Edison 2--Right-hander Robert Pedroza earned the victory and also hit a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth to spark a four-run rally by Santa Ana (2-9, 1-3 in league).

Westminster 4, Ocean View 3--Trailing 3-2 in the top of the seventh, Westminster’s Matt Murphy drove in Chris Denningham with the tying run on a squeeze play, then Mike Ebercht scored the winning run on a wild pitch.

In the Academy League:

Liberty Christian 13, St. Margaret’s 9 (8 innings)--Jeremy Anderson hit a bases-loaded triple in the top of the eighth for visiting Liberty Christian (8-1, 2-0).