Prep baseball: Artists rally past Eagles

COSTA MESA - The Estancia High baseball team rallied for two runs

to tie in the fourth and went ahead in the fifth, only to see visiting

Laguna Beach answer for a 10-3 Pacific Coast League-opening win Friday.

Five Estancia errors led to six unearned runs to deny Estancia

starting pitcher Casey Gates his first victory of the season.

“(Gates) battled,” Estancia Coach C.K. Green said of the senior

right-hander, who did not walk a batter in six-plus innings.

Estancia’s offense also let Gates down, particularly in the third,

when the Eagles loaded the bases with no outs, but failed to score.

Paul Flory went 2 for 4 wiht a double, while Estancia teammates Tyler

Hoffman and Ryan Gleason each had one hit and an RBI.

Laguna Beach’s go-ahead run in the sixth was unearned, as were five of

their six tallies in the seventh.

“My kids realize they can battle,” Green said. “They were up and

excited the whole game.”

Estancia, which hosts Cerritos today at 2 p.m. to close out the

Newport Elks Tournament, fell to 0-5-1.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Laguna Beach 10, Estancia 3

Laguna Beach 020 002 6 - 10 12 1

Estancia 000 210 0 - 3 6 5

Merz, Hite (3), Beck (6) and Baumer; Gates, Lund (7) and Lund, Hauser

(7). W - Hite. L - Casey, 0-2. 2B - Gleason (E), Flory (E), Merz (LB).