Prep baseball: Mesa edges Eagles, again

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - After two meetings, it’s apparent there isn’t a lot of

difference between the baseball teams at Costa Mesa High and Estancia.

But there are those three games in the Pacific Coast League standings.

The visiting Mustangs (6-7-1, 3-2 in league) made sure the latter gap

widened Tuesday, rallying for a 3-2 victory in eight innings to remain

tied with Corona del Mar for second place.

“We had to have it,” said Mesa Coach Kirk Bauermeister, whose squad

clinched the best-of-three cross-town series.

The win, combined with a 3-2 Mustang triumph March 17, earned Mesa the

inaugural Troxel Trophy, named after the late Paul Troxel, who coached at

both schools.

Estancia junior Armando Ortiz was the tough-luck loser for the second

straight time against the Mustangs. He pitched his second complete game

against Mesa, but had to settle for the healthy respect of his rivals.

“He’s as good as any pitcher we’ll ever face,” Bauermeister said of the

right-hander, who surrendered only one earned run, struck out five and

walked none.

Ortiz, who had runners at second and third with a run in and one out in

the second inning, but worked out of the jam without further damage, was

awarded a 2-1 lead in the third. That’s when senior first baseman David

Akiva yanked a towering two-run home run over the the right-field fence.

Mesa answered by cashing in an Estancia error in the fourth. It was the

first of three miscues by the Eagles (4-8, 0-5), who bobbled several more

grounders and misjudged a key fly ball that went for a hit.

Mesa’s Antony Grubisich, whose rocket to right center bounced over the

fence for an RBI ground-rule double in the second, reached on a two-out

throwing error which allowed Carlos Franco to plate the tying run.

It stayed that way until the eighth, when Josh Little led off with a

single, then was erased on Franco’s fielder’s choice. After a strikeout,

Franco went to second on a throwing error and Steven Shores’ fly to right

center dropped for the go-ahead RBI single.

Franco, who got a one-pitch save in the first Mesa game, worked his third

scoreless inning of relief to get the victory.

Mesa helped keep Estancia scoreless after the third by intentionally

walking Akiva and Brent Davis (twice) to get to the lower part of the

Estancia order, which went 1 for 15.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUECosta Mesa 3, Estancia 2

Costa Mesa 010 100 01 - 3 9 3 Estancia 002 000 00 - 2 7 3

Haubrick, Cabico (5), Franco (6) and Fajardo; Ortiz and Davis. W -

Franco, 2-0. L - Ortiz. 2B - Grubisich (CM) 2. HR - Akiva (E).