Griffins Take Fifth to Stun No. 4 Aztecs

Los Alamitos scored nine runs in the fifth inning Friday as the Griffins upset No. 4 Esperanza, 9-6, in a Sunset League baseball game at Esperanza.

The Griffins (8-6, 4-3), who were held scoreless through four innings, got six consecutive hits off of pitcher Doug Brown (3-1), including run-scoring doubles by Chico Velasquez and Jerod Ball. Doug Brown faced 13 batters before being replaced by Chris Brown, who got the final two outs.

Esperanza loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but third baseman John Hartford grabbed Robert Nesbitt’s line drive to end the game.

David Nicholson homered and had three hits for the Aztecs (11-3, 4-3).

In another Sunset League game:

Edison 8, Marina 0--Junior Joe Mozeleski struck out six and allowed two hits for host Edison (7-5-1, 2-5). Sophomore catcher Cory Roumeliotis threw out a runner for the 12th time in the last five games.

In the Century League:

Canyon 6, Santa Ana Valley 4--Jon Holato was two for two with a double, a walk and three RBIs for visiting Canyon (9-5, 6-1).

El Modena 3, Orange 2--El Modena (6-8, 3-4) rallied with two runs in the seventh inning. Kurt Angier homered to tie the score and pinch-runner Juan Vega scored the winning run from third on an attempted pickoff play.

No. 1 Villa Park 8, Foothill 3--Brandon Averill was three for three with two doubles, a home run and two RBIs for host Villa Park (13-1, 7-0).

In the Empire League:

No. 8 Cypress 12, Century 2 (6, mercy)--Ryan Justice had two hits and four RBIs, and pitcher Rusty Murray (2-0) went five innings, allowing just one walk for visiting Cypress (10-2, 5-2).

El Dorado 3, Katella 2--Cory D’Arrigo had two hits and drove in all three runs for El Dorado (9-5, 5-2). He doubled in the Hawks’ first run in the top of the third inning and hit a two-run triple in the seventh.

Loara 9, Kennedy 0--David Ortiz (4-1) struck out six and held Kennedy hitless for five innings for Loara (8-4-1, 4-2-1). Ortiz also had two hits and two RBIs for the Saxons.

In the Freeway League:

Buena Park 6, Fullerton 4--Anthony Cabral and Jeremy Tolmasoff hit back-to-back solo home runs in the third inning for Buena Park (10-3, 6-1). Tolmasoff also pitched a complete game and improved to 6-0.

Troy 2, Sunny Hills 0--Raul Gutierrez drove in Peter Smithedajkul with a single in the third inning for visiting Troy (3-10, 2-5).

In the Garden Grove League:

Garden Grove 1, Bolsa Grande 0--Garden Grove’s Matt Bennett singled, stole second and scored on a single by Greg Benoit in the first inning. Catcher Ricardo Cepeda threw out three runners at second base for Garden Grove (6-8-1, 1-4).

In the Golden West League:

Ocean View 9, Santa Ana 5--Junior Nathan Smith had three hits and four RBIs and Tyler Kreil (3-1) earned the victory for the visiting Hawks (6-7-2, 3-3).

In the Orange League:

Brea Olinda 2, Western 0--Mike Davern struck out 12 and walked four in a one-hit performance for host Brea Olinda (7-7, 4-3). Teammate Erik Staack had two hits and an RBI and Nick Grosse doubled and scored on a single by Ron Benigno.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Laguna Beach 15, Corona del Mar 6--Junior Kirk Ziegler drove in five runs with a double and his fourth homer of the season for the visiting Artists (4-8, 3-3).

Corona del Mar is 7-6, 3-3.

In the Sea View League:

No. 7 Irvine 12, Newport Harbor 6--Terry Parker had three hits, including a two-run home run and two doubles for visiting Irvine (11-3, 8-1). Teammate Jon DeVries had three hits, with a two-run home run.