Kennedy Rallies in Final Inning, Overcomes El Dorado

Shawn Benavente hit a bases-loaded single to left-center field with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning that glanced off the glove of Joe Turgeon and cleared the bases, giving Kennedy a 5-4 victory over El Dorado in Empire League baseball Wednesday at Kennedy.

The victory gave the Fighting Irish (10-4-1, 6-1-1) sole possession of first place.

Ricky Steik (3-0), who gave up one unearned run, got the victory in relief. Steik entered in the sixth inning with runners on first and second and nobody out, and worked out of the jam, recording the final out when an El Dorado runner was thrown out at the plate.

El Dorado falls to 9-6, 5-3.

In another Empire League game:

Loara 4, No. 9 Cypress 3--Bryon Kungl was two-for-two, driving in four runs for host Loara (9-4-1, 5-2-1), which moved into second place in league. Kungl had a home run, a sacrifice fly and a game-winning single in the bottom of the fifth inning. He also earned his second save of the season with two shutout innings.

In the Garden Grove League:

No. 3 La Quinta 6, Garden Grove 5--Unbeaten La Quinta rallied from a 5-0 deficit with six runs in the top of the seventh inning, capped by Shawn Cochrell’s single that drove in Arnulfo Arroyo from third for the winning run. Arroyo’s run-scoring double moments before had tied the score.

Tom Zieglowsky earned his sixth save for the Aztecs (18-0, 7-0) and Mike McKernan (4-0) got the victory in relief.

Los Amigos 8, Rancho Alamitos 6--Jesus Rodarte hit a two-run home run in the first inning and a grand slam in the fifth for visiting Los Amigos (8-7, 3-4).

Santiago 13, Pacifica 11--Brian Pilkington hit a grand slam and Rene Rangel added another home run during an eight-run second inning for host Santiago (8-7, 5-2).

In the Orange League:

Brea Olinda 13, Anaheim 10--Mike Maynard had three RBIs, including a two-run double during Brea Olinda’s eight-run second inning. Ron Benigno had three hits, scored five times and stole two bases for the Wildcats (8-7, 5-3).

Savanna 6, No. 7 Valencia 3--Tony Box hit a three-run home run in the third inning and Lou Sutter hit a single, a double and a two-run home run for the host Rebels (6-9, 4-4).

Valencia fell to 10-4, 6-2.

Western 11, Magnolia 8--Andre Granda had a triple, double and single, drove in two runs and scored the winning run for visiting Western (6-8, 3-4).

In the Serra League:

No. 10 Mater Dei 5, Bellflower St. John Bosco 2--Josh Hansen hit a tie-breaking, three-run home run in the fifth inning that lifted the Monarchs (10-6, 4-2) into a first-place tie with St. John Bosco (8-4, 4-2). Hansen has eight home runs this season and 27 RBIs, including nine in his last two games.

Servite 11, No. 10 Santa Margarita 1 (5, mercy)--Justin Dunleavy and Greg Celio each were three-for-three for host Servite (5-9, 1-5), which had 15 hits.

Santa Margarita (8-6, 3-3) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but Servite rallied with seven runs in the bottom of the inning.