Vigilantes’ Ehler Enjoying His Streaky Success
The season is falling into an odd pattern for Vigilante starting pitcher Daniel Ehler. Twice he has lost four games in a row before stopping the streak against Bend.
This time he gave up three hits in seven innings and tied his season high for strikeouts with nine in Mission Viejo’s 8-2 victory over the Bandits in front of an announced crowd of 2,199 Friday at Saddleback College.
Ehler, a right-hander who has been working on his delivery, was in top form from the start.
He struck out five in row beginning with the second out of the game. He was also strong late, getting the last six he faced. He came out after seven innings because he had reached 114 pitches.
The only run he gave up came in the fifth inning on a two-out fielding error by second baseman Pat O’Connor.
Otherwise, Ehler (2-8) was sharp as he lowered his earned-run average from 8.11 to 7.38.
“We’ve been getting good starting pitching all along,” Manager Buck Rodgers said. “If we can get starting pitching like that we can milk the last two innings [out of the bullpen.]”
The victory was the third in a row for Mission Viejo (14-15), which could reach .500 in the second half for the first time in about a month with a victory tonight against Bend (11-18), which has lost nine of its last 11.
Mission Viejo got three runs in the third and two more in the fifth to make things easier for Ehler.
The first two runs in the third came on a throwing error and Sean Drinkwater walked with the bases loaded to make it 3-0.
Taylor walked with the bases loaded and Carl Nichols singled in another run in the fourth for the Vigilantes as the lead grew to 5-0.
Willie Mosher singled, Taylor doubled and Nichols had a sacrifice fly as Mission Viejo went ahead in the sixth, 6-1.
Mosher had two hits and scored two runs in relief of starting left fielder Alan Burke, who was hit on the left elbow by a pitched ball in the fourth inning. Burke iced the injury and is likely to play tonight.
Bret Barberie had a two-out, run-scoring single in the seventh to give the Mission Viejo a 7-1 lead. Mike Moutrey had a RBI single in the eighth. It was his third hit and 14th of the game for the Vigilantes.
Notes
General managers and managers have voted on the Western Baseball League all-star team and Vigilante pitcher Mike Smith was picked as the pitcher of the year. Smith, a right-hander, is 9-4 with a 3.27 earned-run average. Smith has struck out 86 and given up 85 hits in 99 innings. Right fielder Sam Taylor (.326, 19 home runs, 54 runs batted in), also made the team.