Prep baseball: Mesa thrives in the clutch

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - In the clutch -- where a player can become a superstar

or a goat -- Josh Feldman and Carlos Franco, of the Costa Mesa High

baseball team, answered the challenge with aggressiveness Tuesday.

With the Mustangs down, 3-2, in the seventh inning, the two seniors

drove in runs with blasts to the left-center field gap to spark a 4-3

consolation semifinal win over visiting Santa Ana Valley in the Pride of

the Coast Tournament.

With two outs, Franco’s hit, which scored senior Evan McGuire, proved

to be the game-winner. He smacked a 2-2 pitch with a calm, yet gritty

demeanor. Running toward the fence, the Santa Ana Valley left fielder

nearly caught the ball when he stretched out his glove and the ball flew

over his left shoulder.

“It’s like I told the guys,” Costa Mesa Coach Kirk Bauermeister said.

“Good teams win close games and good teams come from behind to win. We

played well enough to have the chance of winning.”

Feldman’s game-tying RBI single scored junior Kevin DeSandro, who led

off with a double, as he found the same gap as Feldman and Franco.

Feldman went 3 for 4 to go with his RBI.

The Mustangs (11-6-1), who answered a 3-0 deficit, scored their two

runs, despite seeing two promising rallies snuffed out in the fifth and

sixth.

In the fifth inning, Costa Mesa senior Brent Stevens reached on an

error and, one out later, McGuire followed with a base hit. Feldman

cracked an infield single, with a grounder just past second base to load

the bases and junior Nick Cabico walked for the Mustangs’ first run.

Falcons senior Angel Reyes, however, seemed to take the life out of

Costa Mesa when he ended the threat, diving to catch junior Michael

McGuire’s shot to right field.

In the Mustangs’ next at-bat, Franco led off with a double and senior

Mike Armstrong pinch ran for him. With one out, Reyes, who relieved

Robert Padilla, balked to move Armstrong to third and Billy Halverson

ripped an RBI single. But, before Costa Mesa could grab the momentum,

Reyes recorded a strikeout and catcher Robert Vasquez threw out Halverson

trying to steal second for a double play.

“They know what needs to be done,” Bauermeister said of his players

battling through the last three innings. “There’s not much that needs to

be said.”

Cabico, who pitched 6 2/3 innings, displayed what needed to be done.

He kept his team in the game with his 97-pitch performance, that included

three strikeouts and perfect innings in the fourth and sixth.

Cabico scattered seven hits and walked two, before Franco relieved him

and struck out Gus Navarro to end the seventh with runners on first and

second. Santa Ana Valley, which has lost 10 one-run games this season,

fell to 3-16.

Evan McGuire, who played right field and first base, finished 2 for 3

with a walk and Halverson, Mesa’s shortstop, also went 2 for 3.

After a tournament alteration, the Mustangs will host Century at 11

a.m. in a consolation game. Costa Mesa and Pacific Coast League rival

Corona del Mar were supposed to play in the consolation final. But,

coaches at both schools elected not to meet in the tournament.

PRIDE OF THE COAST TOURNAMENT

CONSOLATION SEMIFINAL

Costa Mesa 4, Santa Ana Valley 3

Santa Ana Valley 200 010 0 - 3 7 3

Costa Mesa 000 011 2 - 4 9 2

Padilla, Reyes (6) and Vasquez; Cabico, Franco (7) and Carrasco. W -

Franco, 3-2. L - Reyes. 2B - Navarro (SAV), Reyes (SAV), Franco (CM),

DeSandro (CM).