Jake Covey pitches gem in Estancia’s win over Costa Mesa
The last time that Costa Mesa High and Estancia shared the same baseball field, the Battle for the Bell rivals squared off in one of their more consequential games in the history of the series.
It was an emotional day on May 11 that saw Estancia clinch the second seed in the Orange Coast League, while Costa Mesa was left out of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. A blowout loss to Calvary Chapel in the third-place game that followed that same night at TeWinkle Park was the final nail in the coffin.
When the teams resumed their series on Friday at Estancia, it seemed that a calm had taken over. The teams had arrived at the field for a game and nothing more.
Junior Jake Covey threw a complete game for the victory, as Estancia defeated Costa Mesa 4-1, moving into sole possession of first place on the young Orange Coast League season.
“In rivalry games, a lot of emotions get involved,” Eagles coach Kevin Conlin said. “We just try to tell our guys that it’s just another game, which is easier said than done.
“[The Mustangs are] good. That’s a good team, but we just had to get guys on base and scratch out some runs. We’re trying to stay even-keeled with our emotions and not get too up or too down. I think the kids did a good job of that today.”
None did it better than Covey, who struck out seven and walked none over the seven innings. He allowed four hits and an unearned run.
Covey was effective in throwing his fastball in and under the hands of right-handed batters, especially with the wind howling in from left field.
“I’d been pulling a lot of my outside pitches,” Covey said. “Usually, I like to throw outside pitches for the majority, but since I wasn’t really locating the way that I wanted to today, I had to adjust and go onto the inside of the plate.
“Luckily, I was able to get by a bunch of those guys and force a lot of rollovers. A lot of balls went to our guys out there.”
Troy Huber had a busy afternoon in left field with the wind knocking the ball down. He caught five fly-ball outs for the Eagles (6-3, 3-0 in league). He also had a pair of infield singles, including one that plated Jake Alai for Estancia’s first run.
Brandon Peck also had a run batted in on a ground out to first base, giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead in the second inning.
Estancia extended its lead to 3-1 in the third inning. Justin Wood tripled to right field, and he scored on a wild pitch by Cameron Chapman.
The score stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth, when Josh Caldales got called upon to pinch-hit. He tucked his jersey in for his one plate appearance of the game, and he lined a double to right field on the third pitch.
Hayden Pearce dropped a single over the second-base bag to score Caldales.
“Coach just kind of put me in,” Caldales said. “He was like, ‘All right, Josh. You’re going to go in and hit right now.’ I was like, ‘OK, I’ve got to make it count,’ and I did.
“It felt good. I was really proud of my hit and Hayden for scoring me. I think we did a really good job right there.”
Omar Munoz had two hits for the Mustangs (4-4, 2-1). Miguel Rodriguez and Kyle Anderson also had a base hit apiece.
First-year Mustangs coach Kevin Chavez took a long view approach after the loss, telling his team that it was only the third game of league.
Chavez, who previously coached at Chino Hills, does not consider baseball to be an emotional sport, even in a rivalry game. The Mustangs adhered to that code on Friday.
“You can’t play on emotions,” Chavez said. “It’s not a football game. You have to play under control. Otherwise, you forget the things that you learn and the things that you practice. You have to concentrate because the game is so slow. I think if you get into emotions, it may help you every now and then, but that, in the long run, is going to bite you.
“I prefer it being nice and easy, just a real workman’s attitude out here.”
Estancia and Costa Mesa will face each other again in a nonleague contest at Angel Stadium on March 20 at 3:30 p.m.
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner
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