PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Folsom Gives Orange Share of Title

Orange’s Gary Folsom drove in the winning run with a bloop single that got by the right fielder in the bottom of the seventh inning, and the Panthers defeated Santa Ana Valley, 7-6, in a Century League showdown Tuesday at Orange High School.

The Panthers (13-11, 9-5 in league) clinched a tie for the league championship with the victory. Santa Ana Valley (12-12, 8-6) will try for a share of the title when the teams meet again Thursday in their regular-season finale.

Folsom, a senior, and teammate Eric Mendoza hit back-to-back home runs, the first of the season for both players, to highlight a four-run second inning.

Orange rallied to tie the score, 6-6, going into the seventh inning on Nick Estrada’s run-scoring single to center.

The Panthers, who pounded out 14 hits against three Santa Ana Valley pitchers, had runners on first and second on a leadoff double by Jacob Garza and an intentional walk to Dean Schmaus when Folsom came to the plate with no outs. Santa Ana Valley right fielder Carlos Valdez failed to stop Folsom’s sinking fly ball, which rolled to the fence, scoring Garza from second.