Griffins Hold Off Esperanza After Breaking Through

Tenth-ranked Los Alamitos and No. 3 Esperanza played crisp baseball through six innings Friday as the Sunset League opener at Esperanza shaped up as a pitchers’ duel.

Then, with the score tied to start the seventh, things unraveled quickly. The Aztecs committed two errors on the same play and surrendered six runs in the top of the inning.

In the bottom half, the Griffins did their best to send the game into extra innings, with an error and a five-run collapse, before surviving for an 8-7 victory.

“Even after our big seventh I knew it would be close until the final out,” Los Alamitos Coach Rob Wigod said. “It’s a big win for us. We’ll take this one and enjoy it.”

Esperanza (6-1, 0-1 in league) had a chance to at least tie the score when Christian Felix stepped to the plate with two out in the seventh and the tying run on third and winning run on first. But Felix flied to right as Griffin reliever Adam Sargeant recorded his first save for Los Alamitos (5-3, 1-0).

There seemed to be little chance Sargeant would have to earn a save after the Griffins exploded for six runs in the top of the inning.

Tad Shimada walked to start the inning but should have been erased at second when Esperanza pitcher A.J. Shappi (1-1) fielded Andy Yonaki’s bunt in plenty of time to get the lead runner. But Shappi’s throw sailed over second baseman Nathan Brandt’s head and it was also bobbled by center fielder Matt Lawson. Shimada scored and Yonaki reached third on the double error.

Jerod Ball stroked an RBI single to left two batters later and Ron Prettyman, whose two-run home run in the third had given the Griffins a 2-1 lead, followed with a two-run double. Prettyman eventually scored on a sacrifice fly and Nick Fitzgerald came home on Shimada’s RBI groundout--Los Alamitos’ sixth run of the inning.

Still, the game was far from over.

Esperanza opened the bottom of the seventh with a double, triple and walk. After a pop-up, David Nicholson reached on an error, stole second and scored on Patrick Rooney’s single to right. Rooney eventually scored on Josh Silverman’s sacrifice fly to make it 8-7.

Los Alamitos pitcher Bryan Desena pitched 6 1/3 innings to improve to 2-0.

In other Sunset League games:

Marina 1, Edison 0--Shaun Bartholomew pitched a four-hit shutout, striking out nine, for host Marina (4-3, 1-0). Tim Loper scored from third on a fielder’s choice in the fourth inning for the Vikings.

Fountain Valley 11, Huntington Beach 6--Brent Erickson (1-1) struck out four in relief and second baseman Brian Daguio homered and drove in three runs for the host Barons (5-1, 1-0). Huntington Beach is 3-3, 0-1.