Rubidoux brings heat to top Mesa

Chris Yemma

On arguably one of the hottest days of the year to date, it wasn’t

the weather bringing the heat against the Costa Mesa High baseball

team.

The No. 2 pitching option, sophomore Edward Orozco, threw a

complete-game three-hit shutout to lead host Rubidoux of Riverside

past the Mustangs, 5-0, for fifth place in the Pride of the Coast

tournament Wednesday at Corona del Mar High.

Orozco, who throws in the shadow of senior teammate Daniel

Gutierrez, improved to 6-0 with a 1.81 ERA on the season. He was also

a perfect 3 for 3 at the plate with two doubles and two runs scored.

“He’s one of the harder working kids in the program,” Rubidoux

Coach Tim Kleveno said. “It pays off in the end, which goes to show

how hard he works.”

Orozco tossed six strikeouts while walking just two Wednesday, but

the sophomore pitching phenom isn’t the headliner of the Falcons

(11-5). Gutierrez, who draws five to six major league scouts during

every game he starts, Kleveno said, and packs a fastball just faster

than 90 mph, had his perfect ERA scarred Tuesday in a 9-4 loss to

Corona del Mar.

Gutierrez was 3-0 in 32 innings pitched, with 37 strikeouts, until

he gave up seven runs in five innings to the Sea Kings, who finished

third in the tournament with a 7-6 win over Newport Harbor Wednesday.

“We’re the one-two punch in our league,” Orozco said about himself

and Gutierrez. “There’s no doubt right now; there’s no one that can

stop us. If we throw like this, the tempo’s good, an hour and

20-minute game, there’s nobody that can stop us.”

Mesa (7-7-1) fell to the hands of Orozco, in just about an hour

and 20 minutes, as he said, with the help of an overbearing Rubidoux

hitting force. The Mustangs gave up eight hits while also committing

four errors, three of which lead to runs being scored.

“We left a couple balls up [in the pitching] and they made us

pay,” Mustangs’ Coach Dave Austin said. “They’re a pretty good

hitting team. We tried to pitch around some of their guys, but they

still took advantage us.”

Senior pitcher Alex Pisarski threw the full game for Costa Mesa

and allowed just two earned runs, but a two-error fourth inning

doubled the score to 4-0 for the Falcons, putting it just out of

reach with Orozco on the mound.

An errant throw to first from the shortstop, and a dropped fly

ball, allowed two runners to get on base who eventually scored off a

double by Rubidoux’s Robert Burk.

Ryan Szwast went 1 for 3 with a double to lead the Mustangs, while

senior Dylan Hunter and sophomore Cody Waldron were both 1 for 3.

Mesa finished fifth in the tournament after losses to Miller,

Newport Harbor and Rubidoux.

Austin said he wasn’t satisfied with his team’s placing.

“It wasn’t so much this game as it was the previous ones,” he

said. “Our other pitchers didn’t throw too well. Pisarski threw fine,

and [Andrew] Sanford threw fine [Tuesday] but after that it was

pretty ugly. I’m happy with [Wednesday] -- I’m not happy to lose --

but the guys played OK.”

Pride of the Coast tournament

Rubidoux 5,

Costa Mesa 0

Score by Innings

*--*

Mesa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 4

Rubidoux 1 0 1 2 1 1 x - 5 8 0 *--*

Pisarski and Benson; Orozco and Skipworth. W -- Orozco, 6-0. L --

Pisarski, 2-2. 2B -- Orozco (R) 2, Villa (R), Szwast (CM).