Baseball: Cabico outduels Hart as Mesa wins, 6-1

Richard Dunn

COSTA MESA - With two future college pitchers facing each other for

the first time this year to entertain the large evening crowd Wednesday

night at TeWinkle Park in a Pacific Coast League finale, Costa Mesa

High’s Mustangs lobbied to extend their baseball season with a 6-1

victory over crosstown rival Estancia.

As a .500 club, the Mustangs (13-13, 7-8 in the PCL) put themselves in

a position for a possible at-large berth in the CIF Southern Section

Division IV Playoffs.

“We had a good year and we played well at the end of the season,” said

Costa Mesa Coach Kirk Bauermeister, whose team won the three-game series

against Estancia (4-18-1, 2-13) and, thus, captured the third Troxel Bell

trophy.

“We didn’t play that badly Monday (in a 12-1 loss to Estancia). It’s

just that the outcome wasn’t good. But we had a good year. We had 10

losses to playoff teams, including two losses to La Quinta. We’ve made it

to the quarterfinals two of the last three years and I think we’d be a

good playoff team.”

Costa Mesa, however, was nearly thrown for a loop against Estancia

6-foot-5 left-hander Jordan Hart -- starting his first game on the hill

this season because of ineligibility.

Hart, who plans to play at Orange Coast College next year, held the

Mustangs in check through five innings, giving up only two hits and

striking out seven, including five looking on backdoor breaking balls.

“I’ve been throwing bullpens, but tonight was tough,” said Hart, who

allowed only one earned run and was relieved with two outs in the sixth

by Paul Flory after making 110 pitches.

“Yeah, I was tired, but I didn’t want to come out,” added Hart, who’s

4 for 6 at the plate since returning to the lineup (he was an honorable

mention All-PCL performer as a junior in 2001).

For the Mustangs, senior right-hander Nick Cabico, considered a

college prospect on the mound despite his size (5-foot-8, 145 pounds),

was the difference in the rubber game of the series (Mesa won, 16-0,

March 28).

“We’ve come to expect that from Nick,” Bauermeister said of his ace,

who struck out 13 and walked nobody in his route-going effort before an

estimated 200 fans.

Cabico, who improved to 7-4, scattered seven hits and allowed one run.

Estancia took a 1-0 edge in the third when Mitch Valdes singled to left,

moved to second on catcher’s interference with Casey Gates at the plate

and took third J.B. Goff’s single. Valdes scored on Hart’s RBI single.

Mesa came back with three unearned runs in the bottom of the third,

added another unearned run in the fifth, and yet another in the sixth

when the Mustangs chased Hart. A.J. Perkins scored two runs for Mesa.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Costa Mesa 6, Estancia 1

Score by Innings

Estancia 001 000 0 - 1 7 4

Costa Mesa 003 012 x - 6 5 0 Hart, Flory (6) and Lund; Cabico and Carrasco. W - Cabico, 7-4. L -

Hart, 0-1. 2B - Cabico (CM), Hart (E).