PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Chad Smith’s RBI Single in Seventh Lets El Modena Beat Canyon Again

Chad Smith’s run-scoring single with two outs in the seventh broke a tie and gave El Modena a 3-2 victory over Canyon in a Century League game Friday at El Modena.

The victory by El Modena (7-14, 5-6 in league) was its third over Canyon this week. Canyon, Orange, Santa Ana Valley and Villa Park are tied for first.

Scott Emery walked with one out, stole second and and scored on the single by Smith in the seventh.

Ryan Holmes had two hits Friday and was nine for 14 with three doubles, a home run, four runs scored and drove in six runs for El Modena in the three games this week.

El Modena took a 2-0 lead into the seventh but Canyon tied it on a pair of hit batters, a sacrifice bunt, a groundout and a wild pitch.

In other Century League games:

Santa Ana Valley 6, Foothill 5--Martin Ortega, who went three for four and scored two runs, scored the winning run after a single by Herman Nunez. David Trentine hit a fourth-inning home run, his fourth of the season. Santa Ana Valley is 10-11, 6-5. Foothill dropped to 9-12, 4-7.

Villa Park 2, Orange 0--Jeff Halbert had an RBI single and another run scored on a wild pitch as host Villa Park (11-10, 6-5) scored twice in the fourth. Scott Henderson pitched five innings and Matt Brady pitched the final two for Villa Park. Orange is 10-11, 6-5.

In the Empire League:

Esperanza 10, Cypress 4--Host Esperanza had three home runs and six consecutive hits in a seven-run fourth inning. Billy O’Conner opened the scoring with a three-run homer and the next batter, Poncho Ruiz, hit his sixth home run of the season. Marcus Jones hit a two-run homer later in the inning.

Jones (8-2) allowed two runs in six innings for the Aztecs (16-5, 10-1). Cypress is 9-11, 4-7.

Loara 2, El Dorado 1--Bill Milligan, who had a double, scored the winning run in the third winning as Loara (3-16, 1-10) upset El Dorado (13-9, 7-4). Dan Gusman had a double and an RBI for Loara.

Los Alamitos 12, Katella 6--Caleb Kemp had three hits, including a home run and double, and drove in three runs for host Los Alamitos (12-9-1, 6-5). Cory Barnett had two hits and drove in three runs for Los Alamitos.

The victory moved Los Alamitos into third place, a game in front of Katella (14-8, 5-6).

In the Freeway League:

Buena Park 14, La Habra 6--Jason Gabral went three for four with three runs scored and three stolen bases for Buena Park (13-6, 6-5). Teammates Greg Cabral and Robert Capps each hit solo home runs. La Habra drops to 2-7-2.

Troy 6, Fullerton 4--James Hartford had three hits, including a two-run home run in a four-run fifth, for No. 7 Troy (16-3-1, 10-0-1). Greg Western (4-0) pitched the final four innings of relief, giving up one run and four hits, striking out five and walking none for the Warriors.

Steve St. Pierre led off the bottom of the first with a home run for Fullerton (6-13-2, 3-7-1).

In the Garden Grove League:

La Quinta 7, Garden Grove 4--Ken Granger had two hits, including a double and three RBIs, for host La Quinta (18-4, 8-2). La Quinta’s Joe Linck had a sacrifice fly to break a 4-4 tie in the fifth. Jimmy Livernois (8-1) pitched a five-hitter with seven strikeouts for La Quinta.

Los Amigos 7, Santiago 6--Josh Hoover had a two-run double with two outs in the seventh for visiting Los Amigos (3-16, 2-8). Craig Kuzmic had a home run and three RBIs for Los Amigos.

Kennedy 5, Pacifica 3--Chris Clark had three hits to lead Kennedy (15-7-1, 9-1), which holds a one-game lead over La Quinta.

Rancho Alamitos 8, Bolsa Grande 2--Greg Kozak had two hits and four RBIs and Ed Taylor hit a home run for host Rancho Alamitos (14-5, 6-4), which took a 4-0 lead on four unearned runs in the second and third innings. Bolsa Grande is 5-14-1, 2-8.

In the Olympic League:

Orange Lutheran 8, Calvary Chapel 2--Eric Glessner had two hits and three RBIs and Dave Willett had two hits and two RBIs for host Orange Lutheran (13-7, 6-2). James Maddock allowed five hits and struck out four for the Lancers.

In the Orange League:

Western 9, Valencia 8--Matt Montgomery singled in the winning run with two out in the bottom of the seventh for Western (13-8-1, 7-3-1). Pedro Calderon added two hits and two RBIs for the Pioneers.

Anaheim 5, Savanna 4--Brian Chwan had a two-run double in the top of the seventh to lead Anaheim (6-15, 3-8). Chwan had three hits.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Laguna Hills 13, Costa Mesa 0--Brett Nista hit two home runs, his eighth and ninth of the season, and drove in four runs for Laguna Hills (14-8, 10-1). Casey Bennett had three hits and three RBIs for the Hawks.

Estancia 6, Trabuco Hills 5--Art Martinez had two hits for Estancia (12-8, 6-5). Trabuco Hills fell to 9-9-1, 6-4-1.

Laguna Beach 6, Century 2--Clint Hayden had a pinch-hit three-run double in the fifth for Laguna Beach (8-13, 3-8).

In the South Coast League:

Mission Viejo 5, San Clemente 1--Todd Sands had two hits, including his sixth home run, and three RBIs for host Mission Viejo (11-9, 5-6).

Capistrano Valley 3, El Toro 2--Ryan Gauntner had an RBI single in the top of the seventh to lead Capistrano Valley (12-8, 5-6). Brian Saltarelli stole home for El Toro (12-10, 6-5) in the bottom of the sixth.

Dana Hills 7, Mater Dei 2--Daron Payne had two hits, including a home run, and five RBIs to lead host Dana Hills (14-8, 7-4). Mater Dei dropped to 16-5, 8-3 in league.

In the Express League:

Heritage Christian 2, Norwalk Pioneer Baptist 1--John Zbas’ single scored Marty Bosch in the third inning for the eventual winning run. Bosch struck out eight for Heritage (5-3, 3-0).

In the Academy League:

Liberty Christian 15, South Gate Southeast Lutheran 2 (5 innings, mercy rule)--Gabe Baltodano had three hits, including a triple and home run, and four RBIs and Steve Caruso had three hits, including a home run, and two RBIs for host Liberty Christian (11-6, 4-1).