BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Feisty Trabuco Hills Falls to Mater Dei

Mater Dei moved into sole possession of first place in the South Coast League with a 4-2 victory over Trabuco Hills Tuesday at Mater Dei.

But the Mustangs, who began the game tied for first with the Monarchs, showed Mater Dei the league race is far from over.

“They are the most aggressive team we’ve played in league,” Mater Dei Coach Bob Ickes said of Trabuco Hills, after Monarch center fielder Ed Marquez threw out Tom Kilby at the plate to end the game.

The Mustangs (5-5-1, 4-2) managed only six hits off Mater Dei starter Mike Kolbach, but they scored both runs on all-out baserunning. In the third, Ryan Poe chugged in from second on a bad throw to first by Scott Daeley, and pinch runner Jim Proffitt did the same in the seventh when Daeley repeated the error on a force-play grounder by Kilby.

Kilby was following Coach Randy Brouwer’s instructions when he tried to score on Nick Punto’s single, only to be erased by Marquez’s perfect peg to Josh Townsend at the plate.

“Some people will say it was wrong to send Tom to the plate with two out,” Mustang Coach Randy Brouwer said. “But we had been stealing our runs all day. Against Mater Dei, we can’t afford to sit and wait for something to happen.”

Mater Dei (8-2, 5-1) jumped to a 3-0 lead off Trabuco Hills starter Ryan Kelley (3-3) in the first. Arquez triggered the inning with an infield single, and raced home on Mike Hessman’s double to right center. Punto’s throwing error on Kolbach’s grounder to short enabled Hessman to score, and Kolbach--who went to second on the play--came home on the first of Townsend’s two singles.

Mike Waugh’s homer to left in the fifth, his first, was the final Monarch run.

Kolbach (5-0) did the rest, although he had to escape a bases-loaded jam in the third and a two-on, two-out situation in the sixth.