FREEWAY LEAGUE BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Sunny Hills Capitalizes on Error to Beat Fullerton

Sunny Hills, only by the thin margin of an errant pickoff throw to first base, defeated first-place Fullerton, 3-2, in a Freeway League baseball game Wednesday at Sunny Hills High.

With two outs, runners on first and second and the score tied at 2-2 in the fifth, Fullerton catcher David Chacon tried to catch Mark Veronda leaning off of first. But his throw was in the dirt, getting past first baseman Jim White and into right field, allowing Steve Mellano to score the go-ahead run.

The victory greatly enhanced third-place Sunny Hills’ playoff chances. The Lancers (12-11, 7-5 in league) have a two-game lead over Troy and La Habra, which are tied for fourth. Fullerton (14-7, 9-3) is a game ahead of second-place Buena Park (11-8, 8-4). The top three teams in league advance to the playoffs.

“It was a big win for us,” Lancer Coach Doug Elliott said. “Our pitchers were able to get ahead in the count and keep them off balance.”

Sunny Hills pitcher Brian Volpp and reliever Brian Dewispelaere combined to scatter eight hits and offset a strong performance by Fullerton pitcher Jerry Martinez. The Indian right-hander struck out eight, walked four and gave up six hits.

But two of those hits were a run-scoring triple in the second by Eric Smith, who also had a sixth-inning double, and a bloop single to center by Veronda that drove in a run in the third inning.

Fullerton (14-7, 9-3) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on White’s RBI single to left. The Indians had two runners on with one out, but Martinez struck out and Keith Ginter got caught in a rundown between third and home when a popup by Cameron McMackin fell in front of the plate.

Ginter scored the tying run in the fifth after he was advanced to third by White’s double and came home on Martinez’s bouncer that barely eluded the grasp of Lancer third baseman John Ferraro.

In other games:

Buena Park 8, Troy 7 (8)--Louie Peraza’s single drove in Richard Cabral with one out in the eighth inning for the host Coyotes (11-8, 8-4). Roger Montenegro had a two-run homer in the second, and Angel Barrios added a solo homer in the fifth for Buena Park. Brent Lacher’s two-out, two-run homer tied the score in the seventh for Troy (7-13, 5-7).

La Habra 2, Sonora 1--Rusty Volkert pitched a nine-hitter with six strikeouts and hit a fourth-inning solo homer for the visiting Highlanders (11-8, 5-7). Mark Picco’s fifth-inning single gave La Habra a 2-0 lead.