SEA VIEW LEAGUE BASEBALL : Santa Margarita Rallies to Tie Tustin for First

Overlooked? Santa Margarita Coach Tip LeFebvre believes so.

A five-run rally in the sixth inning propelled host Santa Margarita to a 7-5 Sea View League baseball victory over Tustin and into a first-place tie with the sixth-ranked Tillers. Both teams are 6-1 in league.

Ryan Reightley’s two-run double with two outs in the sixth drove in Paul Nicotra and pinch-runner Lou Manera for the winning run. Robbie Redwitz added an RBI single to cap the scoring.

Tustin, ranked No. 2 in Division III with a 14-5 record, had entered the game as one of the county’s hottest teams, winning 10 of its last 11 games and all six in league. Santa Margarita has been hot of late, too, LeFebvre said, but it hadn’t attracted as much attention, particularly after a 1-6 start.

“Some people don’t understand . . . we’ve played Brea-Olinda, Fountain Valley, Marina twice, Edison, San Clemente and Troy,” said LeFebvre, whose team won its sixth in a row and improved to 10-7 overall. “We’ve played the top teams to be ready for this.”

Looks were deceiving early against Tustin, too. Ryan Winmill’s three-run homer to left off Ed Dryden in the first gave Tustin a 3-0 lead.

The Eagles cut the gap to 3-2 with a run each in the first and second innings. Tustin increased it to 5-2 in the third on a sacrifice fly by Rick Gonzalez and Jeff Cunningham’s run-scoring single.

Nicotra and Barry Hawkins each had RBI singles in the fifth, scoring Brian Griffin and Chris Collins to slice Tustin’s lead to 5-4. Two batters later, Reightley, who was two for three with two doubles and two RBIs, doubled to left-center for the victory.

In other league games:

Irvine 4, Corona del Mar 2 (8 innings)--Geoff Noisy’s two-run single in the eighth gave Irvine (10-10, 3-4) the come-from-behind victory.

Saddleback 7, Woodbridge 6 (9 innings)--Eddie Mejia’s leadoff ninth-inning home run gave Saddleback (10-8-1, 4-3) the victory. Mejia finished with three hits and two RBIs.

University 4, Newport Harbor 1--Tim Blackbrun pitched a two-hitter and struck out seven, as University (1-6 in league) won its first league game of the season.