UPPER DECK BASEBALL TOURNAMENT : Fountain Valley Stops Hanahan in First Round

Top-ranked Fountain Valley had little trouble with its first-round opponent in the Upper Deck Classic baseball tournament, roughing up Hanahan (S.C.), 13-0, Monday at Fullerton College.

Hanahan, which had spent previous spring vacations playing in tournaments in Tennessee and Florida, and was making its first appearance here--was 10-0 but saw its top pitcher, Robert Polard, and two relievers give up 14 hits, including three doubles, two triples, and home runs by Greg Hanoian and Nate Strange.

Polard (4-1) lasted only 2 2/3 innings. He was responsible for eight runs (five earned) and seven hits.

Baron starter Victor Ortega and three relievers limited Hanahan to four hits, two by Phillip Clarke.

Hanahan Coach Bill Steadman saw little reason to argue that Fountain Valley (12-1-1) belongs atop the USA Today poll.

“They (Barons) are a real fine team,” Steadman said. “The caliber of teams we had already played was not the same. Our pitching wasn’t strong enough to go against their top hitters. And they tend to do things right. They don’t beat themselves.

“It was tough to draw them for our first game, but I can still feel good about what we did.”

Fountain Valley broke out quickly, as Hanoian--a transfer from Edison who was expected to add more punch to an already potent lineup--slammed a two-run homer over the right-field fence in the first.

After scoring another run in the second, the Barons broke the game open with five runs in the third, taking advantage of four hits, a Hawk throwing error and a sacrifice fly by Chris Fusillo.

The fourth inning was the only one in which Fountain Valley did not score.

Strange finished the scoring with a two-out, three-run homer in the sixth. It was his first.

“The first inning got us started, and then they had a hard time stopping our momentum today,” Fountain Valley Coach Ron La Ruffa said.

Ortega (2-0) pitched four innings to earn the victory.

La Ruffa said he debated whether to start Ortega or Steve Schenewerk, but settled on the senior right-hander. “Now we’ve got our rotation set for the rest of the tournament,” La Ruffa said.

In other tournament games:

Esperanza 16, Bronx (N.Y.) Fordham Prep 3--Esperanza had 10 hits, five walks and three hit batsmen. It broke the game open with six runs in the second inning and seven runs in the fifth. Jason Webb had three hits and three runs batted in and Jeremy Viscusi also had three RBIs for the Aztecs (7-6-1).

Esperanza plays Edison (N.J.) at 7 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton.

Mater Dei 14, Taylorsville (Utah) 8--Mike Waugh was three for five with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored for the third-ranked Monarchs (11-2). Josh Townsend had three hits and three RBIs and Mike Hessman had three hits, two RBIs and three runs scored.

Mater Dei plays Sapulpa (Okla). at 2 p.m. at Fullerton College.