PREP BASEBALL : Canyon Topples Troy, 7-0

Troy became the last county team to fall from the unbeaten ranks, as Canyon pitcher Corey Cruz stymied the Warriors with a two-hit, 7-0 victory Saturday afternoon at Glover Stadium in Anaheim.

Cruz (5-0) was on target all game. The right-handed senior struck out nine and walked two in the first-round contest of the Anaheim Lions Easter Tournament. He retired 12 consecutive Troy batters at one point.

Canyon (8-3) advanced to the second round, where it will meet Kennedy, a 16-7 winner over Savanna, at 7 p.m. Monday. Troy (9-1-1) will meet the Rebels at 1 p.m. Monday. Both games will be at Glover Stadium. “(Cruz) is the kind of guy who’s not overpowering,” Canyon Coach Michael Najera said. “He has to hit his spots with a good curve. He’s smart, and if he hits his spots and we play good defense, he’s going to be in the game.”

Jim Hostetler, Troy’s 6-foot-6 junior right-hander, fought Cruz to a standstill until his team’s defensive lapses started in the fourth inning.

With one out and the bases loaded in the fourth, Canyon’s Scott Redfox hit a potential double-play ball to shortstop Brian Logan. Logan’s throw got Gunnar Strunz at second, but Nick Ruzzi’s relay throw to first was wide and in the dirt, allowing two Comanche runs to score.

Canyon took a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning. Hostetler allowed two Comanches to reach second and third on a pair of walks and a wild pitch. With two outs, Royce Valent hit a grounder to Logan, who threw past first baseman Craig Weinreich for two more Comanche runs.

Another pair of Troy errors and a sacrifice grounder by Rick Judy put Comanche runners on second and third again in the sixth inning. James Jekums scored on Redfox’s bloop single to right field, and Josh Gutierrez scored from third on Kent Miller’s sacrifice fly to left.

Meanwhile, Cruz was keeping Troy’s batters off stride with his breaking pitches. After Ruzzi’s lead-off double in the first, Cruz retired 12 in a row until walking Bryan Burchit leading off the fifth inning.

“(Cruz) did a great job for us,” Najera said. “He’s turned out to be our ace. He pitched on the (junior varsity) last year, and we hoped he could step up. He’s a Tommy John-type of pitcher.”

In the Anaheim Lions tournament:

Sunny Hills 6, Los Amigos 5--Eric Smith had four hits, three RBIs, and pitched 1 2/3 innings to earn his first save for Sunny Hills (9-4) at Brookhurst Park. John Ferraro had three hits and one RBI for the Lancers.

Sonora 4, Santiago 3--Adam Chez had an RBI single in the sixth for Sonora at Glover Stadium (7-5). Erik Julin tripled into the right-center field gap and scored in the third inning on a single by Chez.

Dana Hills 7, Cerritos 6--Chris Fogleson had a two-run double to tie it, 5-5, in the sixth for Dana Hills (7-5). Dana Hills took a 6-5 lead on a throwing error. Dana Hills plays Sonora at 4 p.m. Monday in the second round.

La Quinta 6, Laguna Beach 3--Joe Linck had two hits including a triple and an RBI for La Quinta (11-2) at Brookhurst Park in Anaheim. Ken Granger (2-1) pitched the first five innings for the victory and Jim Livernois pitched the final two innings for his third save.

In the Pride of the Coast tournament:

Brea-Olinda 4, Norwalk Glenn 3--Mike Brambilla’s hit scored Trevor Lords to break a 3-3 tie in the fifth for Brea-Olinda (8-3-1) at Estancia. Lords had tied it with a double. Danny Miller hit a home run in the second for Brea, which plays Estancia at 10:30 a.m. Monday.

Estancia 9, Bolsa Grande 0--Jose Cabrera, making his varsity debut, pitched a two-hitter with seven strikeouts and walked four for host Estancia (8-2). Bolsa Grande is 2-7-1.

Corona del Mar 7, Santa Fe 2--David Angeloni hit his seventh home run, scored two runs and had two RBIs for the Sea Kings (5-6). Angeloni also pitched six innings, allowing only two runs to earn the victory.

Huntington Beach 11, El Modena 1--Bryce Dillard pitched a four-hitter with five strikeouts and Mike Calderella hit a two-run double in the sixth to give the Oilers (7-7) an 8-1 lead.

Katella 4, Century 2--David Reese pitched 6 1/3 innings for the victory for Katella (9-4) at Corona del Mar. He was relieved in the seventh by Jaret Wright, who struck out two with the tying runs on second and third. David Rojo hit a solo home run in the second for Katella.

Katella plays at Corona del Mar at 2 p.m. Monday.

Marina 15, Orange Lutheran 2--Nate Newton hit a three-run home run in a five-run fifth and Kevin Sullivan had two doubles and three RBIs for Marina (8-6). Winning pitcher Brian Sailor allowed two runs, three hits, two walks and struck out seven in six innings.

Newport Harbor 22, Calvary Chapel 4--Mike Freeman had three hits and four RBIs and Justin Ketcham had three hits and three RBIs for Newport Harbor, which scored 18 runs in the second inning. Mike Eadie pitched five shutout innings to earn the victory for Newport Harbor (2-10).

Rancho Alamitos 6, Costa Mesa 3--Marshall Brown opened the first and the fifth innings with home runs and finished with three RBIs for visiting Rancho Alamitos (8-2). Jeff Byrd had two hits including a double and drove in two runs for Rancho Alamitos, which plays Huntington Beach at 2 p.m. at Costa Mesa High School.

In the Santa Ana Easter tournament:

Foothill 9, Pacifica 8--Hector Enriquez tripled home Curtis Yates with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh for Foothill (6-5) at Rancho Santiago College. Enriquez had two hits and Paul King had two RBIs for the Knights, who sent 13 batters to the plate in a seven-run second inning.

Jeff Depippo singled home Marty Kinchloe to tie the score, 8-8, in the top of the seventh for Pacifica.

Diamond Bar 6, Trabuco Hills 5--Diamond Bar (10-1) scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to erase a 5-4 Trabuco Hills’ lead. Justin Poe and Brad Cervantes had RBI singles and Joe Marlow hit an RBI double for the Mustangs (6-3-1) in a four-run fifth.

Laguna Hills 10, Santa Monica 7 (9 innings)--Matt Evans had two hits, two runs and two RBIs, including an RBI single, in a three-run ninth for the Hawks (8-5) at Santa Ana Valley. Brett Nista had two hits, two runs scored, and a home run for Laguna Hills.

Mission Viejo 7, Santa Ana Valley 2--Eric Fielding had two hits and three RBIs and Jeff Carr had two hits and an RBI for Mission Viejo at Santa Ana Valley. David Cronkite had three hits for the Diablos (5-6). The Falcons are 5-6.

Saddleback 10, Orange 8--Jerry Heraz was two for four with two RBIs and Jerry Ortiz was two for five with two RBIs for Saddleback (5-6). The Roadrunners took a 4-0 lead in the top of the third inning, fell behind, 5-4, in the bottom of the third, and then scored five runs in the next two innings to help secure the victory.

Dean Schmaus was two for four with three RBIs for Orange.

Santa Ana 6, Paramount 3--Mario Nunez had a two-run double as Santa Ana (2-9) scored four runs in the first inning. Oscar Miranda pitched five-plus innings for the victory, and Lupe Alvarez pitched the last two innings for his second save.

Saul Cuellar had two hits and stole three bases for Santa Ana, which plays Saddleback at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Valencia 6, Cerritos Gahr 5--Mike Mebane had two hits, including an RBI triple in the top of the seventh to tie the score, 5-5. Bill Eubanks followed with an infield single to score Mebane with the winning run for Valencia (6-5) at Villa Park. Valencia’s Ben Esque pitched a complete game to earn the victory.

Villa Park 6, Buena Park 4--Randy Case, who had three hits, singled home A.J. Strapp from second to tie the score, 4-4, in the fifth. The Spartans (5-6) scored two unearned runs in the top of the seventh and held on for the victory.

In the Glendale Babe Herman tournament:

University 12, Burbank Burroughs 7--Jason Young had a two-run single to break a 7-7 tie in the seventh inning for University (9-3-1), which rallied for 10 runs in the seventh inning. Stephan Hagins had four hits including two doubles a triple for University.

In the Stengel tournament

Saugus 8, Loara 7 (6 innings, time limit)--Scott Himes walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth to drive in Steve Rogers with the winning run at Glendale Hoover High.

Jason Hoffman homered for Loara, which tied the score, 7-7, with two runs in the top of the sixth.

The Centurions (8-5) overcame a three-run deficit with five runs in the bottom fo the fifth.

In nonleague games:

San Clemente 2-9, Cerritos Valley Christian 1-6--San Clemente turned a triple play in the first inning of the second game to help blunt a Valley Christian rally and spark the Tritons (6-6-1) to the sweep.

San Clemente was trailing, 3-2, with the bases loaded when a Valley Christian batter hit a line drive to first baseman Mike Wood. With all runners going, Wood then tagged first and threw to second to complete the triple play.

San Clemente scored two more runs in each of the next two innings to take the lead for good.

Ryan Scott and Matt Rasor each hit two-run homers for San Clemente in the second game.

Steve Sunderland scattered eight hits, striking out five, and went two for three to lead the Tritons in the first game.

Cerritos Valley Christian fell to 9-4.

Liberty Christian 9, Capistrano Valley Christian 4--John Church had nine strikeouts and pitched a nine-hitter for Liberty Christian (8-5) at Costa Mesa. Chruch also had a double.

Bryan Davis, a freshman infielder, had three hits and two RBIs for Liberty Christian. Capistrano Valley Christian is 3-7.