Orange County Prep Baseball : This Time, Good Hitting Beats Good Pitching as Irvine Tops Mission Viejo

It figured to be a good pitching matchup. Hard-throwing Jack Bailey (5-1) of Mission Viejo High School was scheduled to oppose control-conscious Brian Snoddy (7-0) of Irvine in a battle for first place in the South Coast League.

So much for a pitcher’s duel. The teams combined for 26 hits despite hitting into a strong wind, and Irvine outlasted the Diablos, 9-5, to remain in first place in the seven-team league with a 6-0 record. The loss was the first for Mission Viejo (4-1) in league play.

Irvine rallied for four runs in the sixth inning to erase a one-run deficit, and Snoddy went the distance for his eighth victory of the season. It was a typical performance for Snoddy, who didn’t walk a batter and has now allowed only five walks in 55 innings.

“Give the guy credit,” said Ron Drake, Mission Viejo coach. “He’s a good pitcher. He throws strikes and makes you hit the ball. He keeps the ball down and lets his fielders do the job.”

The Vaqueros aren’t too shabby at the plate, either. They repeatedly went to the opposite field and finished with 15 hits, the most Mission Viejo’s pitching staff has allowed this season.

When Irvine rallied for four runs in the sixth, three of the runs came on base hits to right field. The big blow was a two-run single by catcher Steve Habermehl that pushed Irvine ahead, 6-5.

A critical throwing error by Diablo shortstop Bob Doran kept the inning alive, and later Drake called the error the turning point in the ballgame.

“It was a close game when our shortstop made the bad throw and they turned it into four runs,” Drake said. “That was the ballgame. I thought both teams played well. We came back (from a 4-0 deficit) and then they came back to win. That’s the sign of two good teams.”

Bob Hamelin, Irvine’s impressive first baseman, continued his hot hitting. He had two hits and walked three times to improve his batting average to .535. Habermehl had two singles and a double and right fielder Brian Brocoff contributed three singles.

“I was impressed the way we regained control after they went ahead,” said Bob Flint, Irvine coach. “It feels good to be 6-0, but we still have a long way to go. There are so many good pitchers in this league, anyone can beat you.”

In other South Coast League action:

Laguna Hills 3, Dana Hills 3 (9 innings)--Both teams turned in game-saving defensive plays in the ninth inning before darkness brought an end to the game at Dana Hills.

Dana Hills had runners at first and second with one out in the top of the ninth but was turned away when Laguna Hills second baseman Paul Peters backhanded a hard-hit ground ball by Greg Erickson and converted it into a game-ending double play.

Laguna Hills (2-3-1, 10-8-1) had the go-ahead run thrown out at the plate on a close play in the top of the ninth. Sean Hardy tried to score from second on a single by Jay Christensen but was called out when Dana Hills catcher Tony Ferguson dug the relay throw out of the dirt and applied the tag.

Wayne Helm went the distance for the Hawks, striking out 11. Bryan Hatch pitched 7 innings for the Dolphins before being relieved by Ed Esteban.

El Toro 8, San Clemente 4--The Chargers (2-4, 9-11) opened a 6-1 lead with three runs in the third inning. Greg Payne had two hits and drove in two runs and teammate Brian Young added two hits and drove in another run. San Clemente is 0-6 in league play.