Coach Has Mixed Feelings About This Lost No-Hitter

Jason Marian had a no-hitter through 5 1/3 innings in Mission Viejo’s 10-0 victory over Dana Hills, but it was broken up by Joe Cecil, younger brother of Mission Viejo Coach Jeff Cecil.

Jeff just happened to be calling the pitches Marian threw.

“It was a 1-2 count and we had thrown him three curve balls,” Jeff explained. “I thought maybe he was looking curveball again, so we threw him a fastball--and he hit a line drive into left field.”

That was the end of the no-hitter, and the beginning of a lot of razzing.

“The guys in the dugout were heckling me that I gave [my brother] the fastball,” Jeff Cecil said. “In reality, I was trying to get the outer half of the plate and catch him looking.

“On one hand, I’m proud that he hit it, but I’m upset that we lost the no-hitter.”

Marian finished with a three-hitter as Mission Viejo (8-11) won for the fifth time in seven games.

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Estancia has been in the baseball playoffs nine of the last 11 years, but this year’s team could become the school’s first to go winless an entire season.

And it’s not as if Estancia is being routinely pounded, as they were Friday in a 10-1 loss to Laguna Hills.

“We’ve lost eight one-run games, four two-run games and two three-run games,” Estancia Coach Paul Troxell said. “We’ve been averaging six runs a game and we’re 0-18. What does that tell you?”

Troxel expected things to be difficult. None of his planned starting pitchers had any previous varsity experience. But no one could have foreseen that they would still be looking for that first victory.

“Part of success is being able to look at the big picture,” Troxel said. “And these kids are going to be successful. It has certainly been a character-building year.”

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In its third year of existence, the Aliso Viejo golf team is challenging for the Pacific Coast League title, which is a surprise even to its coach, Wayne Westling.

The Wolverines are young, with one senior, one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen, which led to Westling’s optimism for the future.

“I was hoping in three years to give everybody a run for their money,” Westling said, “but it’s happening earlier.”

The team, led by sophomore Robert Pavlovich and freshman Mike Kendall, has lost only one league match and could move into a tie for first place with a victory over Estancia (8-0) today at Mesa Verde.

Estancia, the favorite to win the title, beat Aliso Viejo, 206-213, at the Wolverines’ home course, El Niguel.

Wednesday, the Wolverines (7-1 in league) will finish the league dual-match season against third-place University (4-4 in league).

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The Orange County all-star boys’ soccer game will be played 7:30 p.m. Friday at Chapman University. The North is coached by Kino Oaxaca of Esperanza and the South by Santa Margarita’s Curt Bauer. The game features the 40 best senior players in the county.

Staff writers Martin Beck, Dave McKibben and Mike Terry contributed to this story.