Canyon Beats Foothill to Set Up Title Clash

Canyon’s dream of winning a mythical national championship in baseball ended a long time ago. But the Comanches, thanks to a 6-1 victory over host Foothill Tuesday, still have the Century League title squarely in their sights.

The decision put the teams into a tie for the league championship, and they have split the first two games this season. When they play again Thursday at Canyon, they will decide the league title.

From Foothill’s perspective, it will behoove them to be more relaxed on Thursday.

Left fielder Adam Pakes kicked Jeff Leuenberger’s single for an error, giving Leuenberger another base and giving Canyon (20-5, 12-2) the impetus for a three-run first inning. The Knights, who could have clinched the league had they won Tuesday, never recovered.

The nerves showed in other ways. Foothill looked tentative at the plate, managing only three singles off Leuenberger (8-1), who struck out three and walked five in seven innings. There were base-running mistakes; with his team down five runs in the fifth, Josh Arhart was thrown out at second trying to advance when a Leuenberger pitch bounced a short distance away from catcher Thomas Duarte.

“We were too emotional today,” said Foothill Coach Vince Brown, whose team slipped to 18-6, 12-2. “But we’ve talked all season about coming down to the final week with a chance to win the championship. Hopefully on Thursday we’ll find a way.”

They’ll need to cool off the Comanche batters, who pounded Tyler Lang (7-2) for 11 hits and six runs in four-plus innings. Leading the barrage was outfielder Mike Tomarelli, who homered in the first and third and drove in four runs.

Tomarelli, who has six homers on the season, said he was surprised either ball went beyond the fences. “I was fooled by Tyler’s curve in the first and thought I had just popped up the ball in the third,” Tomarelli said. “But both of them got up in the [wind] and luckily went out.”

If Foothill needed any further proof Tuesday was not going to be its day, there were two innings that summed up the game. In the second, the Knights, having already scored a run with the bases loaded, almost had another when Chad Concolino thought he was hit on the hand by Leuenberger. The umpire, however, ruled the ball had hit the bat handle first. Concolino eventually struck out.

And in the fifth, with two on and two outs, Austen Verst drove the ball to left. Canyon outfielder Brian Wahlbrink dived for the ball, then showed it with a bare hand. The play was ruled a catch.

Wahlbrink said he caught the ball, and when he hit the ground it popped up “but I caught it with my bare hand.”

Brown did not agree. “But the umpire judged it a catch and you can’t argue judgment calls,” he said.

In the Freeway League:

La Habra 29, Fullerton 6--Robert Morales homered twice, including a grand slam, and drove in eight runs and Paul Summers also hit a grand slam, finishing six for six with seven RBIs for La Habra (15-7, 8-6).

Sonora 13, Troy 5--Jeremy Weinberg hit two home runs in the third inning for fifth-ranked Sonora (21-3, 13-1).

In the Garden Grove League:

La Quinta 21, Santiago 2--Jhamal Dawkins had two home runs for sixth-ranked La Quinta (23-3, 10-1). which clinched its fifth consecutive league title.

Laguna Hills 11, Aliso Niguel 4--Nick Harvey hit his 13th home run, tying the county record set by Fullerton’s D.C. Olson in 1990, for Laguna Hills (14-9-1, 11-2-1).

In the South Coast League:

Mater Dei 6, Capistrano Valley 0--Mike Kolbach pitched a two-hitter for top-ranked Mater Dei (21-3, 14-0).

In the Sunset League:

Fountain Valley 11, Esperanza 1-- Ryan Clark homered twice and drove in five runs for 10th-ranked Fountain Valley (17-8, 11-3), which moved into a tie for first with third-ranked Esperanza (20-5, 11-3).

Marina 2, Edison 1--Jason Stewart pitched a one-hitter, striking out 10, for Marina (16-9, 9-5).