EMPIRE LEAGUE BASEBALL : Stockstill Shuts Out El Dorado

If only Boysen Park were El Dorado field, El Dorado might be tied for first place. Fortunately for Katella pitcher Jason Stockstill, four long flies short of the 400-foot sign in center field were simply long outs and Katella simply has a two-game lead after its 1-0 victory Wednesday afternoon.

“That’s what happens when you play in Texas,” El Dorado Coach Steve Gullotti said. “Probably two balls in the last inning, one in the first and another (in the sixth) would have been out. But we weren’t playing in our park.”

Stockstill (7-2), who had a no-hitter through 4 2/3 innings and gave up only two singles, laughed when he heard Gullotti’s comments.

“Those wouldn’t have been homers in their park,” said Stockstill, who struck out five and walked three. “The wind blows in there. Those were changeups anyway. That’s what happens when you get the ball up.”

Katella (13-8, 9-1) never got the ball up in the air, but they did field it. The Knights didn’t make an error, but the fifth-ranked Golden Hawks (16-5, 7-3) made two behind Don Jamieson (9-2), and one was costly.

In the third, Geno Ramirez singled, stole second and scored on two ground balls to third baseman Jim Cox, who didn’t cleanly field either ball.

The first ground ball was hit by Drake Gustafson and it advanced Ramirez to third. Stockstill hit the second one sharply and Cox didn’t get his glove down in time.

“Defense was the key for us,” Stockstill said. “The guys came through for us.”