FREEWAY LEAGUE BASEBALL ROUNDUP : La Habra Gets Confidence Boost by Beating Second-Place Troy

La Habra stopped its losing streak at three games and got some much-needed momentum going into next week’s Southern Section playoffs by defeating Troy, 7-6, on Thursday in the Freeway League final for both teams.

La Habra (11-8, 9-6 in league) lost a four-run lead in the bottom of the seventh inning but won the game in the ninth when shortstop Steve Busch blooped a single to right that scored Mark Picco.

Left-hander Scott Veeder (8-3) retired the side in the bottom of the inning for the victory. Veeder struck out Troy’s best hitter, Steve Friedrich, for the final out and finished with 11 strikeouts.

Friedrich tied the game at 6-6 in the seventh when he drove a double to left-center field with two out and the bases loaded. Friedrich drove in three runs with the double, giving him 37 runs batted in in 21 games.

“I hated to see Fred (Friedrich) up there for the last out because he’s trouble,” said La Habra Coach Paul Thomas. “We almost let this one slip through our fingers.”

Troy (15-8, 9-6) had already clinched second place in the league by virtue of two previous victories over La Habra, and Coach Dane Ilertsen elected to go with an all-senior lineup in the regular-season finale.

Troy’s only runs through six innings came on a two-run homer by pitcher Greg Windle in the fourth.

“This game meant a lot to us because it showed my players they can win a close game against a tough team,” Thomas said. “Now, we’re hoping to avoid a wild-card game next Tuesday and open the playoffs on Friday.”

Teams from the Freeway League have been selected to play an opening wild-card game in four of the past five years. Troy will enter postseason play as the league’s No. 2 team behind champion Sunny Hills.

“This game didn’t mean much to us since we had already clinched second, but it was nice to see us come back,” Ilertsen said. Friedrich’s double prolonged the game and Ilertsen said he was hoping his senior catcher could provide some added heroics in the ninth inning.

“I gave him strict instructions in the ninth,” Ilertsen said. “End it. He came back to the bench and said, ‘Sorry coach.’ Heck, we wouldn’t be in the playoffs without that guy.”

In another league game:

Sunny Hills 18, Buena Park 3--Tony Martinez’s third hit of the game gave him 42 for the season to break the school record of 41 set by Mike Lutz in 1985. Brent Howes had four hits, including a double and triple, and four RBIs; Chris Looney had three hits, including a home run, and four RBIs, for the host Lancers (19-6, 14-1).