No-Hitter Puts End to Record Hit Streak

The longest hitting streak in state high school baseball history came to an end Tuesday, but it took a near-perfect performance to put it to rest.

Temecula Valley sophomore Tyler Engler-Gaston (1-1) earned his first varsity win by throwing a no-hitter to beat Moreno Valley Canyon Springs, 5-1, in a pool-play game of the Anaheim Canyon/Orange El Modena tournament at El Modena.

Engler-Gaston walked one and did not strike out a batter, conceding only an unearned run. The Golden Bears (6-9-1) committed two errors.

Joe Spiers, who had a double and single on Monday against Newhall Hart to extend his hitting streak to 46 games, went hitless in three at-bats on Tuesday for Canyon Springs (11-4), ranked No. 15 in the Southland by The Times.

He reached base in his second plate appearance when third baseman Danny Morrow threw the ball away after fielding a hard-hit grounder.

Morrow atoned by snagging a line drive off Spiers’ bat to retire the Hawaii-bound senior in his final at-bat.

The last time Spiers was held hitless was in his sophomore season in 2002, when he was playing for Temecula Valley.

Brandon Butcher had two hits, including a home run, for the Golden Bears.

-- Eric Maddy

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Two of the Southland’s top teams made quick work of the competition in pool-play games at the Las Vegas Durango baseball tournament.

Chatsworth, ranked No. 4 by The Times, swamped Sacramento Christian Brothers, 20-4, in a game called after five innings because of the mercy rule.

Willie Cabrera had a three-run home run in a 13-run fourth inning for the Chancellors (16-0). Cabrera had five hits and Matt Dominguez had four hits, including a two-run double.

Junior Amon Luckey, who was just called up from the junior varsity team, picked up his first win for No. 16 San Clemente in an 11-1, five-inning victory over Fairborn (Ohio). Jeff Parnes had two hits, two runs batted in and scored twice for the Tritons (13-4).

Track and Field

Junior Mark Matusak of Los Angeles Loyola, the No. 2 returning 1,600-meter runner in the state, is not expected to race again until the first week of May.

Matusak won the 800 and 1,600 in a dual meet against West Hills Chaminade on March 25, but pain and swelling in his left foot forced him to withdraw from the Pasadena Games at Pasadena City College two days later.

X-rays taken on March 30 revealed what appeared to the start of a stress fracture in the area near Matusak’s toes.

If Matusak is sidelined as long as expected, Loyola will be without his services when it travels to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame for a dual meet on April 29 that is expected to determine the Mission League champion.

Loyola has won 109 consecutive dual meets, and the streak is expected to be at 110 when it meets Notre Dame, the last team to defeat the Cubs.

Michael Haddan of Irvine Woodbridge, the 2002 state champion in the boys’ 800 meters, has committed to UCLA.

Haddan finished third in the 800 in the state championships last year and was the runner-up in the Division II race of the 2002 state cross-country championships.

-- John Ortega

Swimming

The Irvine girls’ team will welcome senior sprinter Courtney Cashion, The Times’ 2002 girls’ swimmer of the year, back to action today, when the Vaqueros (3-1, 2-0 in league) face Irvine Woodbridge in a Sea View League meet at Irvine University.

The Irvine boys’ team will have junior butterfly specialist Nate Wilcox and senior Sam Song, who specializes in the breaststroke, back for the meet.

The swimmers became academically eligible after the grading period that ended Friday.

“We’re pretty happy with our outlook for the remainder of the season,” Irvine boys’ Coach Ken Dory said.

Wilcox and Song each were consolation finalists, finishing among the top 16, in their events in last year’s Southern Section Championships, where Irvine finished sixth.

Cashion has won Division I titles in the 50-yard freestyle the last two years and won the 100-yard freestyle title the last three years.

-- Lauren Peterson

Softball

They can laugh about it now, especially after winning two games in the Santa Ana Foothill tournament, but it wasn’t so funny when Sun Valley Village Christian opened the tournament on March 28 with a 6-0 loss to Garden Grove Pacifica.

The Crusaders looked more like a junior varsity team than a Division V champion ranked in The Times’ top 25.

Coach Jim Stone, whose team is off this week, tried to pick up the pieces with a lengthy postgame talk.

“I asked the girls to grade themselves one through 10 on defense, batting, pitching, intensity,” Stone recalled. “When you max out at three, you know you didn’t bring your ‘A’ game.”

-- Martin Henderson

Miscellany

Jeoff Meek has been hired as football coach at Santa Ana Saddleback. Meek, son of former Anaheim Esperanza coach Gary Meek, was an assistant at Esperanza for 10 years and at Orange El Modena the last three. He replaced Jerry Witte, who retired after 25 seasons.

Anaheim Loara has hired John Lombardi as athletic director, replacing Marty Johnson, who is retiring at the end of the school year, and Sean Diaz has been selected the athletic director at Irvine Beckman, which opens in the fall. Diaz is currently the athletic director at Bellflower.