Prep baseball: Mesa takes a pass

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - It was RBI giveaway day Monday for the host Costa Mesa

High baseball team, which accepted 13 walks and five hit batsmen, while

adding some big hits of its own to collect a 17-1 victory over Bolsa

Grande in a consolation quarterfinal of the Pride of the Coast

Tournament.

Six Matador pitching changes, which included five pitchers and enough

defensive shifts to inundate the most flexible scorecard, failed to

produce just about anyone who could find the plate. And when Bolsa

hurlers did intersect the strike zone, there were consequences.

Senior center fielder Michael McGuire launched a grand slam, his first

home run of the season, to highlight a seven-run sixth inning.

Earlier, senior catcher Mike Carrasco connected for a two-run homer,

while senior Nick Cabico and junior Nathan Hunter each drove in two runs

with a single swing.

McGuire was 2 for 4 with five RBIs, one courtesy of a pitch between

his shoulder blades, while Hunter had four RBIs, including one via walk

and one after being hit by a pitch.

Mustangs Daniel Cooper, Niall Huffman and Brad Ayers also accepted

free trips to first with the bases loaded to drive in runs.

Cabico doubled in a pair in a six-run second, then came around to

score on Hunter’s two-run single to cap the rally that included five hit

batters, one walk and a dropped fly ball to right.

Jorgenson, a sophomore right-hander, provided the virtual antithesis

to Bolsa’s ineffective pitching. His three-hit shutout was broken up in

the sixth, when the visitors strung together a double and a pair of

singles to avert being blanked.

Jorgenson, who struck out four and walked only one, gave way to senior

infielder Kevin DeSandro, who worked a perfect seventh in his first mound

appearance of the season.

The victory evened the Mustangs’ record at 7-7 and sent them into

today’s 11 a.m. consolation semifinal against Newport Harbor at the

Sailors’ diamond. Today’s winner will play the Pacifica-Saddleback winner

Wednesday for the consolation crown.

A.J. Perkins also had a hit for the Mustangs, whose coach, Kirk

Bauermeister, declined comment on the game. Perkins also stole a base, as

did Cabico.

The Mustangs batted around in the second and the sixth. They had seven

straight batters reach base in the second and 10 straight in the sixth.

PRIDE OF THE COAST

Consolation quarterfinal

Costa Mesa 17, Bolsa Grande 1

Bolsa Grande 000 001 0 - 1 6 2

Costa Mesa 060 227 x - 17 6 0

Curran, O. Espinoza (5), Jiminez (5), Rodriguez (6), Uribe (6),

Jiminez (6) and Cardona; Jorgensen, DeSandro (7) and Carrasco. W -

Jorgenson. L - Curran. 2B - Cabico (CM), Rodriguez (BG). HR - Carrasco

(CM), McGuire (CM).