Eagles clutch in victory

COSTA MESA — When Roy Smith was called upon in the fifth inning, the Estancia High senior was ready to deliver.

With the bases loaded and one out, Smith, the pinch hitter, didn’t let his teammates or his coach down, smacking a double down the left-field line, scoring two and providing a big lift to the Eagles.

His clutch hit helped Estancia beat Canyon of Canyon Country, 5-2, in a semifinal of the Beach Pit Classic Tuesday at Estancia.

“There’s no feeling like it,” Smith said of his double that scored Ryan Boselo and Alex Trancoso. “I don’t remember anyone telling me to run to second. I saw the throw coming in. The biggest adrenaline rush I think I ever had.”

The rush gave the Eagles (11-6) the momentum. They hope to carry it into today’s tournament championship game against Beckman at Estancia at 2 p.m. They’ll need plenty of momentum, as the Patriots are ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Division III coaches’ poll.

It was Smith who provided the spark Tuesday.

“He has been swinging a hot bat all season,” Estancia Coach Matt Sorensen said of Smith. “He’s a senior and he deserves to be in that situation. I just went with the hotter hand in that situation.

“All the credit goes to him for his preparation. I had a lot of confidence in him.”

Smith is feeling more than a rush with Estancia this season. The Eagles say they feel like a different team than years past.

“We’re so much more into it,” Smith said. “This is the most I ever felt that I’ve been on a real team. I feel like we have come together.”

That team togetherness will be put to the test today.

Sorensen says his Eagles are now thin at pitching, and that it will take a total team effort and more clutch hitting to capture the title.

Senior Ryan Boselo pitched 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked three. He allowed four hits and two runs, improving to 2-0.

Senior Marc DeFrenza had a complete-game five-hitter in the Eagles’ 2-1 win over Ventura Monday.

“We’re going to be in the same situations [against Beckman],” Sorensen said of hits like the one Smith provided. “And it will be: will we step up or won’t we?”

Sophomore Alex Trancoso produced the game’s only triple for Estancia in the first inning, and he scored on a passed ball.

Sophomore Andres Hernandez led off the third inning with a double. Junior Matt Carlyle followed with a double to bring him in. Freshman Tyler Rios put the ball in play and it led to a throwing error that scored Carlyle. Rios also earned a save with some nice pitching, getting the last two outs in the sixth and retiring the side in order in the seventh with two groundouts and a flyout.

Beach Pit Classic Semifinal

Estancia 5, Canyon 2

SCORE BY INNINGS

Flemming and Roxbury; Boselo, Rios (6) and Dominguez. W – Boselo, 2-0. L – Flemming. Sv. – Rios. 2B – Roxbury (C); Hernandez (E), Carlyle (E), Smith (E). 3B – Trancoso.