Dillon Manchester, Estancia baseball blank Calvary Chapel in Orange Coast League opener
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Estancia High baseball coach Bishop Griggs was the program’s pitching coach last season.
He understands that every game is not going to end up looking as good as a Best Picture nominee, but holding the opposing offense in check is always a welcomed sight.
Starting pitcher Dillon Manchester allowed just two hits over five innings, and Estancia shut out Calvary Chapel 4-0 at home Monday in an Orange Coast League opener.
Games at Estancia are known to be influenced by the sea breeze that blows in from left-center field. Manchester, a soft-tossing left-hander, made the ball dance in the wind, especially in working his circle changeup down in the zone.
“Keeping it up, it’s going to get hit, but if I keep it low, I’m able to get them to chase,” Manchester said. “When I’m able to do that, I’m able to keep my pitch count lower, and I’m able to go farther in the game.”
Manchester escaped a couple of early jams for Estancia (4-3). In the second inning, Manchester got Gavin Gildart to ground out to shortstop to leave the bases loaded. He had to work around a one-out double by Ezra Olivares and a throwing error in the inning.
“Dillon looked really good,” Griggs said. “When he stays down and he can pound the zone, really, his best stuff is when he is pitching to contact. His stuff moves a little bit, so we get good defense behind him. Then he becomes more effective in the zone, and he sets up other pitches to get strikeouts when we need them.
“Ultimately, for him, I’m really proud of him. He did a really good job, first game out in league, and taking his turn in the rotation.”
Manchester struck out five against Calvary Chapel (5-3), which is ranked No. 9 in the CIF Southern Section Division 6 poll.
The defense picked up Manchester in the third inning. After Manchester threw 22 pitches in the second inning, first baseman Easton Townsend ventured well into foul territory to retire Calvary Chapel leadoff hitter Jonathan Brown. It led to an eight-pitch inning to get Manchester’s pitch count back in order.
“He did a really good job,” Griggs said of Townsend. “Honestly, we were in the dugout, and we weren’t sure if he was going to be able to get to it, but he was able to chase that one down, and it was a big out for us at the time, just to be able to settle some things down. He’s doing a good job anchoring first base this year.”
Estancia was beaten by Savanna 5-0 in an Orange County Division game of the Newport Elks Tournament on Feb. 22. Since then, one swing of the bat by Garrett Palme per game has been good enough to ensure that Estancia gets on the scoreboard.
Palme homered for the fourth consecutive game, giving Estancia a 3-0 lead in the third inning with a two-run blast to right field.
“I’m seeing the ball pretty well right now,” Palme said. “It’s been good, just staying really with my approach. I’ve really matured this year mentally as a hitter more than anything.
“I put on some weight, and now I’m seeing the power numbers that I want. Most importantly, I’m just glad that I can help this team. That’s what really matters is being able to help the team with some offense.”
Nick Peralez also scored on a throwing error in the inning when Matt Kehoe successfully stole second base.
Jack Moyer had two hits for Estancia. Thaddeus Sanchez had a stolen base and a run scored, and Troy Huber walked in all three of his plate appearances.
Griggs went to Jake Covey with a three-run lead to start the sixth inning. Covey, the Orange Coast League Pitcher of the Year in 2019, struck out four in recording the six-out save.
“It was fun to get back,” Covey said of his first pitching appearance this season. “We had a little hiccup on the way here. I started having some back pain and some issues with my arm, so I had to shut it down for a couple of days and really just try to take care of it. No pitching, just kind of staying on the field doing light throws, so I’ve been really taking care of it.
“It felt great to be back up there, completely fine. It had been a while since I had been on the mound max-intensity like that, so I was just kind of treating it like dialing back in. It was primarily fastballs, which was pretty obvious.”
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