SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : Blue Plate Special: Hall Cooks Up a Fine Outing for Tustin

Ronnie Hall admits it isn’t one of his favorites. In fact, he finds it rather disgusting. But at 8:30 in the morning he wasn’t going to argue. If his classmates had to make meatloaf, he would make meatloaf, too.

Besides, Hall figured, it would take his mind off the game. In less than seven hours, he would be in his Tustin uniform, taking the mound against Irvine in a Southern Section semifinal. The pressure was on. He had to relax. He couldn’t have baseball clouding his brain.

So meatloaf it was. Meatloaf filled with cheese, meatloaf topped with potato. Meatloaf, meatloaf, meatloaf to mellow out the mind.

First period Foods was never so liberating. Hall’s taste buds were never so tortured.

“It was nasty,” Hall said. “I really can’t cook.”

Luckily for Tustin, Hall’s cooking ability is not on a par with his pitching. Against Irvine, he struck out 11 and gave up seven hits in an 8-5 victory at Rancho Santiago College.

The victory put Tustin in the Division III championship game against La Quinta, a 10-1 winner over Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe Tuesday.

Hall, a junior varsity pitcher last season, seemed especially focused Tuesday. His zone made Irvine groan. He started out by striking out four of the first five batters he faced. He finished by striking out the side in the seventh inning. He looked as cool and composed before the game as after.

“I’m chillin’,” he said moments after being mobbed by his teammates in a victory melee. “Chillin’--that’s the magic word.”

Apparently, that had more to do with his demeanor than the large ice pack wrapped around his arm.

All day long, Hall said, he was reminded of the game. Every classroom he entered had a mention of the showdown written on the chalkboard for all to see: TUSTIN VS. IRVINE TODAY . . . RONNIE HALL PITCHING . . . He could barely make it down the hall before being reminded of the task.

Not that he minded. This was what he wanted. This is what he had been hoping for since late last year. He wanted to prove Tuesday what he wanted to prove in 1992: That Ronnie Hall was varsity material all the way through.

He had heard the stories--that he was a hothead, that he threw fits, that his talent would always be tempered by a nasty temper. Some of that might have been true, though you would never know it Tuesday.

Hall was in control--not only of his pitches but of his poise. Witness the solo home run he gave up to Ryan Jones in the sixth inning. That hit cut Tustin’s lead to 8-4. It caused a Fourth of July-like celebration in the Irvine dugout. It even caused Tustin catcher Jon Lauderdale to rock back on his heels and wonder.

Was this it, Lauderdale thought. Would this be the point where Hall goes berserk-o?

“I was scared,” Lauderdale said. “I though he might break down after that, but he came back really strong.”

That he did--after giving up two more hits and a run, that is. With an 8-5 lead, no outs and a runner on third, Hall retired the next three to end the sixth inning.

In the seventh, with the Irvine players ready to do anything to get themselves into the championship game for the second consecutive year, Hall was masterful, striking out the side--Geoff Noisy, Loc Tran and Aron Garcia--to end the game.

It was Garcia, Hall said, who he couldn’t wait to face. Last time Hall pitched against Irvine, Garcia went two for two with a walk. Tuesday, Hall struck him out three times and picked him off at first.

“He’s a great hitter,” Hall said. “But I figured out what pitch to give him--my drop.”

Asked how he planned to celebrate the victory, Hall said “do some homework.” Whether that includes any extra work in Foods, Hall didn’t say.

Then again, if the Tillers manage to beat La Quinta Saturday, Hall says he will plan something special.

“Meatloaf and Kool-Aid,” he says. “I’ll make it for the team--if we win.”

Might not sound like much of an incentive. But to Hall, it’s the recipe for success.