FREEWAY LEAGUE BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Sunderland Takes Victory Personally

Wednesday’s game was a personal matter for Sunny Hills pitcher Bobby Sunderland.

Sure, the 8-1 pasting of Troy at Sunny Hills was a team thing. It prevented the Warriors from clinching the Freeway League championship and kept the Lancers in the race, albeit barely. They trail Troy by 2 1/2 games with three remaining.

But Sunderland viewed it more from the first-person perspective.

“This was all about Troy,” Sunderland said. “They do a lot of popping off. I wanted them and I got them.”

As if the Warriors needed to be reminded.

Sunderland (6-3) pitched a six-hitter, striking out seven. That certainly made up for his heartbreaking 4-3 loss against the Warriors this season, a game in which Sunderland had given up the winning hit.

But it wasn’t enough just to win, Sunderland wanted to dominate the game.

He struck out the first two batters and got stronger. He struck out the side in the sixth before Troy (16-4-1, 10-1-1), ranked sixth in Orange County, got its only run in the seventh.

“I had the rankings taped to my car window all week,” Sunderland. “I saw them all the time. This was all about Troy.”

And Sunderland let the Warriors know it. After each strikeout in the sixth, he stomped off the mound, shaking his glove toward the plate.

That prompted some remarks from the Troy dugout. But talk was about all the Warriors could do.

“Sunderland was awesome,” Troy Coach Dane Ilertsen said. “I wish I had a bunch of kids like him.”

The Lancers (15-7-1) will settle for one. It’s about all they can support.

The Lancers scored five runs in the third, two on a double by Eric Smith. Keith Wescott, the No. 8 hitter, had three hits and drove in two runs.

In other league games:

Buena Park 7, Fullerton 5--Mark Rugprayoon, who had four RBIs, hit a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh for host Buena Park (14-6, 7-5). Fullerton is 6-14, 3-9.

La Habra 8, Sonora 3--Steve Busch and Nate Shadel had three hits and Rusty Volkert (2-6) gave up four hits for visiting La Habra (5-13-2, 3-7-2). Sonora is 3-9.