Prep baseball: Deja Vu for Mustangs

Steve Virgen

LAGUNA BEACH - What if?

Perhaps that’s what the Costa Mesa High baseball team was left asking

after the Mustangs lost, 4-3, to Pacific Coast League host Laguna Beach

Friday.

What if the umpire called a strike, rather than a ball in the fifth

inning? Costa Mesa Coach Kirk Bauermeister said that was the turning

point in the game and brought back memories of the Mustangs’ 4-3 loss at

Laguna on March 22.

The Artists’ victory lifts Laguna into sole possession of third in the

PCL, while Costa Mesa must at least split with Corona del Mar next week,

to keep its CIF Southern Section playoff hopes alive.. Recalling the

March 22 meeting - In the bottom of the seventh with two outs and two

strikes, the Artists’ Dillion Murphy slugged a two-run home run to tie

the game and Laguna Beach won it in the eighth.

. This time, with two outs and a full count to Oregon State-bound Todd

Merz, Costa Mesa sophomore relief pitcher Adam Jorgenson delivered a

pitch that set off objections from the Mustangs’ dugout. The umpire

called a ball and Merz received the free pass to first.

With two runners aboard, Laguna Beach junior designated hitter Chris

Stansbury, who slammed a solo home run in the fifth, crushed the first

pitch deep over the left-field fence, and the scoreboard, for the 4-3

lead.

“The umpire missed a call,” Bauermeister said. “(But, Laguna Beach)

played hard enough to win.

“To steal a line from Yogi Berra: It’s deja vu all over again.”

Bauermeister also mentioned the Mustangs committed mistakes in that

fifth inning, walking Laguna Beach’s Brandon Hooper, then hitting Scott

Youngstead with a pitch.

However, Mesa senior second baseman A.J. Perkins completed an

unassisted double play by snagging a line drive and then tagging out

Hooper at second.

Jorgenson, who ripped a walk-off RBI base hit to beat the Artists,

1-0, Tuesday, assisted on the Mustangs’ other double play. Jorgenson

gloved a line drive and then fired to Dan Bitler at first in the third

inning.

In the second inning, Jorgenson belted an RBI base hit to right

-center, which brought in senior Kevin DeSandro, who displayed some savvy

base running. DeSandro, who played at third and shortstop, reached after

being hit by a pitch. He then attempted to steal second and did not beat

the throw. But, DeSandro slid under the tag and was safe.

Jorgenson also scored in the second, on Bitler’s single to left

center. Perkins, who walked, crossed the plate after senior Michael

McGuire put the ball in play with a hard-hit ground ball that led to an

infield error.

Also in the second inning, the Mustangs had two runners picked off by

Merz.

“If we don’t do that, we score more runs,” Bauermeister said. “If we

don’t walk and hit a batter (in the fifth) it’s a solo home run instead

of a three-run homer. We’re capable of playing better.”

Mesa seniors Nick Cabico and Mike Carrasco also had hits for the

Mustangs (10-12, 4-7 in the PCL). Cabico had a base hit in the first and

Carrasco clubbed a double off the fence in left center in the sixth.

Laguna Beach entered Friday’s PCL battle on a three-game skid. Artists

Coach Mike Schubert called the contest the school’s biggest game of the

season. He also noticed Mesa has been dealing with the same type of

adversity as his team. Both PCL squads have been victims and victors in

close games.

“We have some strategy differences sometimes, but overall we’re mirror

images of each other,” Schubert said. “I love playing them because they

play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Laguna Beach 4, Costa Mesa 3

Costa Mesa 030 000 0 - 3 5 2

Laguna Beach 000 130 x - 4 4 1

Cooper, Jorgenson (5) and Hunter, Carrasco (5); Merz, Beck (5) and

Sampson. W - Beck. L - Jorgenson, 2-2. 2B - Carrasco (CM). HR - Stansbury

(LB) 2.