Marina Rips Huntington Beach; Keeps Sunset League Race Close
With Craig Wilson’s help, Marina muddled an already confusing Sunset League race with a 12-5 victory over Huntington Beach on Tuesday.
The Oilers had a chance to become an honest-to-goodness front-runner in a league where six teams started the day within 1 1/2 games of each other. But Wilson and the Vikings would have none of that.
Wilson homered twice and drove in five runs at Marina, putting the Vikings (14-6, 4-3) in the thick of the race.
“In this league, you just don’t know what’s going to happen,” Wilson said.
The Oilers (13-5, 4-2), ranked third in Orange County, weren’t expecting to be slapped around. They came into the game in first place, a half-game ahead of Fountain Valley. They left as just another team in the crowd.
The Oilers looked as good as billed for a while, but it didn’t last. Marina scored nine runs in the fourth inning to take a 10-1 lead.
Wilson capped the outburst with a wind-aided three-run homer to right-center field. His second, a two-run homer to center in the sixth, needed no assistance, as he was already in his home-run trot by the time he reached first base.
Wilson, who has three home runs this season, also doubled and scored three runs. Brad Smith had a two-run double and Travis Anderson a two-run single for the Vikings.
