Roundup : Esperanza Blows Lead, Rallies in 7th to Defeat Katella, 9-8

Todd Gudat singled home two runs with two out in the seventh as Esperanza High School, which had blown a five-run lead, rallied for a 9-8 victory over Katella Friday in an Empire League baseball game at Esperanza.

Doug Saunders led off the seventh with a walk and Jim Burchit followed with a single. Two outs later, Gudat, who was 3 for 4 with 5 RBIs, blooped a single to center to drive in both runs.

Saunders (1-1) pitched one inning of relief for the victory.

Esperanza (15-5 overall, 9-2 in league play) led, 7-2, going into the sixth inning, but Katella (9-12, 3-8) rallied for six runs in the sixth. Ted Brown hit a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 7-4, and then the Knights took advantage of four Esperanza errors.

In other Empire League games:

El Dorado 8, Cypress 1--Eddie Keller had three hits, including a home run, and two RBIs to lead host El Dorado (18-3, 9-2). Chris Olsen had a two-run homer and Phil Nevin also drove in two runs for the Golden Hawks. Matt Luke (3-0) pitched four innings, striking out five, for the victory. John Trejo had an RBI for Cypress (1-10, 5-16).

Los Alamitos 12, Loara 1--Mark Wasikowski and Todd Gregnano each had three hits and three RBIs to lead Los Alamitos (17-5, 8-3) at Loara. Wasikowski had a home run. Tony Muser (3-1) threw a three-hitter, striking out nine, for the victory. Loara is 8-11 and 3-8.

In the Century League:

Foothill 13, Santa Ana Valley 5--Paul Thornton had three hits and five RBIs to lead Foothill (13-8, 8-3) at Santa Ana Valley. Kent Donnelly had a three-run homer for the Knights. Mike Higgins (5-1) pitched four innings for the victory.

Santa Ana 14, Canyon 2--George Carachure went 3 for 5 and had 3 RBIs for host Santa Ana (12-9, 7-4), which had 16 hits. Bobby Reimers threw a five-hitter for the victory and also drove in four runs with two hits. Canyon is 14-7 and 7-4.

Villa Park 6, El Modena 5 (8 innings)--Chris Bell opened the eighth inning with a triple and scored when James Hong hit into a fielder’s choice and the throw to the plate was late. Bell also hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning for host Villa Park (6-12, 4-7). El Modena is 6-12 and 4-7.

In the Freeway League:

La Habra 8, Buena Park 3--Rob Yutz had two RBIs and Chris Singleton had three hits to lead host La Habra (14-5, 10-1). Mike Morris (1-0) threw a six-hitter, striking out six, for the victory. Buena Park is 1-14 and 0-11.

Sonora 15, Sunny Hills 2--Kyle Schaetzl set a school record with his eighth home run and Mitch Kaylor and Troy Karakas each had three hits to lead host Sonora (11-10, 7-4). Brent Smith (3-2) threw a three-hitter, striking out five, for the victory. Jeff White hit a two-run homer for Sunny Hills (9-12, 5-6).

Troy 8, Fullerton 6--Steve Trachsel hit a grand slam with two out in the bottom of seventh to lead Troy (7-11-1, 4-7). Trachsel had six RBIs for the game. Fullerton is 14-7 and 7-4.

In the Garden Grove League:

Kennedy 4, Los Amigos 3--Kennedy (14-9, 8-2) scored four runs in the sixth inning, three on a home run by Peter Montera, for a come-from-behind victory at Los Amigos. Greg Hansell (6-1) pitched 3 innings of relief, striking our four, for the victory. Los Amigos is 4-17 and 1-9.

La Quinta 5, Santiago 1--John Park had two hits, including a double, and four RBIs to lead La Quinta (17-4, 10-0) to its 16th consecutive victory at Santiago. Mike Wilson threw a seven-hitter, striking out six, for the victory. Mark Dion had two hits for La Quinta. Carlos Leon had two hits and Tany Alfaro drove in a run for Santiago (9-14, 4-6).

Pacifica 16, Bolsa Grande 11--Chris Shockley had a grand slam and five RBIs and Richard Yukihuro drove in five runs to lead Pacifica (15-5, 8-2) at Bolsa Grande. Todd Ashworth drove in four runs for Pacifica. Ghassan Hreische had a two-run homer and Jerry Maldonado had two RBIs for Bolsa Grande (6-14, 3-7).

Rancho Alamitos 6, Garden Grove 0--Blane Pensinger (3-2) threw a 4-hitter with 10 strikeouts for visiting Rancho Alamitos (11-11, 5-5). Chris Culbert had two hits and three RBIs and Jim Mora had two hits, including a double, for Rancho Alamitos. Mark Lung took the loss for Garden Grove (4-14, 1-9).

In the Olympic League:

Orange Lutheran 4, Capistrano Valley Christian 0--Junior Chris Minouge (1-1) pitched five innings for the victory and had four RBIs for host Orange Lutheran (16-7, 6-3). Minouge tripled to drive in three runs in the fifth inning to give Orange Lutheran a 4-0 lead. Minouge also had an RBI double in the first inning. Rich Gress was 3 for 3 with 2 doubles for Orange Lutheran.

In the Orange League:

Magnolia 10, Brea-Olinda 4--Marty Neff (4-2-1) threw a five-hitter, striking six, to lead host Magnolia (7-11-1, 5-5-1). Neff also had three doubles and four RBIs. Shane Levoit had a home run for Magnolia. Brea-Olinda is 4-14-1 and 2-8-1.

Western 11, Valencia 10--In the bottom of the sixth, Doug McConathy tripled and then scored on an error to give Western (13-8-1, 7-3-1) the victory. Western tied the score with a six-run fifth inning. Manny Rodriguez tripled home two runs in the inning. Mike Edwards had a three-run homer for Valencia (11-6, 7-3-1).

In the Pacific Coast League:

Orange 7, Woodbridge 3--Mark Dannenbring had a pinch-hit double to put Orange ahead, 4-3, in the sixth inning, and the Panthers scored three more at home. Scott McMahon added a two-run single in the fifth for Orange (13-8, 9-2). Paul Maund had two hits, including a triple, and scored two runs and Skip Tanner (1-3) pitched the final 1 innings and had three strikeouts for Orange, which is tied for first place with Laguna Hills.

Laguna Hills 8, Costa Mesa 5--Jason Thompson hit a three-run home run in the third inning and Jun Honda hit a two-run home run in the fifth for visiting Laguna Hills (12-8, 9-2). Ron Kortman (5-4) pitched the first 5 innings for the victory, and Mike Smedes pitched the final 1 for the save. Costa Mesa is 9-12 and 3-8.

Trabuco Hills 11, Laguna Beach 9 (9 innings)--David Lowery went 6 for 6 and hit for the cycle to lead Trabuco Hills (10-8, 6-5) at Laguna Beach. Lowery and Larry Holman each had three RBIs. Ted Savage had three hits and three RBIs for Laguna Beach (5-11, 3-8).

In the Sea View League:

Saddleback 7, Tustin 3--Saddleback (16-5, 10-1) scored six runs in the second inning at home. George Saldana had a two-run single and Paul O’Hearn a two-run double in the second for Saddleback. Mike Arroyos had three hits, including a double and triple, and scored two runs for Saddleback. Sean Therien (5-3) pitched an eight-hitter and had seven strikeouts for Saddleback. Eric Grover had a home run for Tustin (13-8, 7-4).

Corona del Mar 3, Estancia 1--Rich Mather (1-2) went five innings for the victory at Estancia. Chad Thompson and Kurt Ehmann each drove in runs for Corona del Mar (5-11, 3-8). Ed Gomez had an RBI for Estancia (14-7, 7-4).

University 14, Newport Harbor 8--Casey Simpson and Dave Dieter each had three RBIs to lead host University (9-13, 5-6) to its fifth consecutive victory. Simpson had two hits, including a home run, and Dieter had four hits. Pete Duynstee had three hits and three RBIs for Newport Harbor (4-17,1-10).

In the Sunset League:

Edison 10, Marina 4--Daryl Mead had two hits, including a home run, and two RBIs to lead host Edison (9-10-1, 5-6). Don Smith also drove in two runs for Edison. Marina is 8-13 and 2-8-1.

Ocean View 7, Fountain Valley 6--Host Ocean View trailed, 6-2, after four innings, but rallied for five runs in the fifth. Corey Colbert had a two-run single to give Ocean View (12-8-1, 6-4-1) the lead. Greg Szumba had a two-run homer for Ocean View. Fountain Valley is 11-10 and 6-5.