BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Santa Margarita Wins; Title Still in Doubt

Santa Margarita and Irvine long ago sewed up baseball playoff spots as both took turns tormenting the Sea View League. But determining who will be league champion will take a couple more days to decide.

The Eagles made sure the Vaqueros did not clinch the title Tuesday with a 10-0 victory at Santa Margarita, bashing out 14 hits against three Irvine pitchers to bring the league race to a dead heat. Both teams are 12-2 in Sea View and have split their two games.

Santa Margarita and Irvine meet Thursday at Irvine to settle the issue. Each will use its ace--Matt Ward (8-2) for the Vaqueros, Ryan Reightley (7-1) for the Eagles.

“This is the way it should be,” Santa Margarita Coach Tip Lefebvre said. “The two-best pitchers in the league going at it. We’re going to tee it up and let the kids play.”

Santa Margarita (17-7) played at a higher level Tuesday, handing Irvine its most lopsided loss of the season.

They made Vaqueros starter Scott Larsen (2-3)--who pitched a six-hit complete game against the Eagles in Irvine’s 2-1 victory on March 31--labor through 3 1/3 innings, nailing him for four runs and eight hits. They broke the game open in the sixth with five runs, three coming on Reightley’s first home run.

More than anything, the Eagles executed to perfection. Four times Santa Margarita successfully employed the bunt to put runners in a scoring position (including a squeeze by Jim Luster). In each of the four innings--the first, fourth, fifth and sixth--Santa Margarita got at least one run because of it.

“It was our day today,” Lefebvre said. “Every time we needed a key hit or play we got it.”

Justin Parker had little trouble with Irvine (18-6), giving up six hits and stranding four. Twice the Vaqueros got a runner to third, but could not get him home.

Irvine Coach Bob Flint said Santa Margarita always is capable of playing this well. “But we figured this was a tough week anyway, so that’s OK. We can go home and forget this one.”

It may not be so easy--for either team--to do so on Thursday.