BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Wilson’s Big Hit in Seventh Helps Canyon Hold Off Orange

Casey Wilson’s bases-loaded triple in the top of the seventh inning turned out to be the winning hit as Canyon held off Orange for an 11-9 Century League victory Tuesday at Orange High.

Canyon led, 6-4, going into the seventh. Rick Judy’s leadoff double and Chad Stanovich’s run-scoring single extended the lead to 7-4 and Wilson followed with his three-run hit that sailed deep to center field. Royce Valent’s sacrifice fly to center gave the Comanches a 11-4 lead.

Orange took advantage of four Canyon errors and a wild pitch to score five runs in the bottom of the seventh. The Panthers had the tying run on first base, when Canyon reliever Corey Cruz got Orange’s David Matranga to fly out to left to end the game.

“It was just an ugly game, big time,” Canyon Coach Mike Najera said. “I’m sure both teams can play better than that. We got lucky with some timely hits and got what we needed when we needed them.”

The victory left Canyon (11-6, 5-2 in league) atop the Century League standings. Orange (8-9, 4-3) lost its share of the league lead.

Canyon took advantage of Panther pitching breakdowns and scored four runs to take a 6-3 lead in the fourth. The Comanches received five walks, including three with the bases loaded.

Orange narrowed the gap to 6-4 on pinch hitter Sean Simpson’s RBI single to left in the fifth inning.

In other Century League games:

El Modena 6, Santa Ana Valley 5 (12 innings)--First baseman Ryan Holmes had three hits and doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the 12th for El Modena (4-13, 2-5).

Villa Park 2, Foothill 0--Kayvan Pejouhian, Jeff Halbert, and Matt Brady hit consecutive doubles in a two-run second and Scott Henderson pitched a three-hitter for host Villa Park (9-8, 4-3).

In the Academy League:

California Lutheran 5, Liberty Christian 4--Winning pitcher Matt Krug, who struck out 13, hit a two-out triple in the top of the seventh to score Eric Olsen from second and break a 4-4 tie for visiting Cal Lutheran (1-1 in league). Liberty Christian (8-6, 1-1) lost its fourth one-run game.

In the Metro League:

Pacific Shores 10, Lake Elsinore Bundy Canyon Christian 0 (5 innings, mercy rule)--John Doidge had a double, home run, three runs scored and two RBIs and Doug Chadwick pitched a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts for host Pacific Shores (3-5, 3-3).

In the Olympic League:

Capistrano Valley Christian 9, Ontario Christian 5--Bobby Birtwell had three hits and two RBIs and earned the victory for the Eagles (4-11, 2-3).

Cerritos Valley Christian 7, Orange Lutheran 0--Jason Wells pitched a two-hitter and struck out five for Valley Christian (10-4, 6-0). Orange Lutheran is 12-6, 5-1.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Century 15, Costa Mesa 6--Chris Duran had two home runs and three RBIs and Tom Reimers struck out 10 to earn the victory for Century (8-7-1, 4-2-1).

Laguna Hills 13, Estancia 3--Mike Messinger had three hits and three runs scored and earned the victory for Laguna Hills (11-8, 7-1). Estancia is 5-2 in league.

Trabuco Hills 6, Laguna Beach 4--Sophomore Ryan Kelley allowed three hits over 6 1/3 innings to earn his first victory for host Trabuco Hills (6-8-1, 3-3-1).

In the Sunset League:

Edison 9, Huntington Beach 2--Todd Belitz and Jason Wynn homered and winning pitcher Chris Kurz struck out eight in 3 2/3 innings of relief for Edison (15-3, 7-0).

Fountain Valley 4, Westminster 0--Ara Petrosian struck out six and third baseman Frank Granillo hit a two-run single in the second for Fountain Valley (15-4, 6-1).

Marina 15, Ocean View 11--Russell Williams hit a two-run home run and Craig Wilson and Kevin Sullivan each had three hits and three RBIs for Marina (12-8, 4-3). Ocean View is 3-4 in league.

Servite 11, Santa Ana 6--Steve Rullo had two hits and two runs scored for host Servite (5-12, 2-5).