Baseball: University outmuscles Mesa in PCL opener, 9-2

Richard Dunn

COSTA MESA - Even with a rather convincing 9-2 Pacific Coast League

baseball victory Friday over Costa Mesa High, Coach Chris Conlin’s

University Trojans are still taking the wait-and-see approach as the

season begins to warm up.

And, facing Costa Mesa ace Nick Cabico, the visiting Trojans found

their hitting shoes in the PCL opener as they pounded six extra-base

hits, including two home runs (one a grand slam) by No. 3 hitter Matt

Stone.

“Nick Cabico is probably the most outstanding pitcher in the league,”

Conlin said. “This is just one game. He had 14 strikeouts in a game

recently, so we were just trying to put the ball in play.”

It was reported that Cabico, who fanned 14 Pacifica batters last

Saturday in a Newport Elks Tournament game, had set a school record for

strikeouts in a game.

But Costa Mesa Coach Kirk Bauermeister said Friday that Jeff Goettsch

(Class of ‘83) holds the mark, striking out 15 batters in a game once.

Goettsch later played at Orange Coast College (1984-85) and Loyola

Marymount (1986-87).

“Cabico scuffled the whole way,” Bauermeister said of the senior

right-hander’s outing against the Trojans (3-5), which included giving up

five runs (two earned), six hits and four walks in five-plus innings.

Cabico, who struck out three, was tagged in the first inning by

Stone’s two-out home run to center field, then Stone’s slam put the game

away in the sixth against Mesa southpaw reliever Derek Garcia.

University, which has lost this season to Villa Park, Katella, Marina

and Laguna Hills, beat Servite in the season opener, 5-2, behind the

pitching of Stone, who was 8-1 last year.

But sophomore right-hander Dan Warner got the nod from Conlin in the

PCL lid-lifter.

Warner, who proved that the once-proud complete-game shutout is almost

nonexistence on the high school stage, tossed a gem for six innings

against Costa Mesa (4-3), striking out five, walking one

semi-intentionally and coaxing the Mustangs into eight ground-ball outs.

Instead of carrying a four-hit shutout into the seventh, Warner, who

threw 79 pitches, was pulled by Conlin for the sake of the team’s bigger

picture -- the season.

“We need to get people involved. We’re trying to build our ballclub,”

Conlin said.

Costa Mesa was glad to see Warner leave. The Mustangs, who lost both

ends of a nonleague doubleheader Tuesday to La Quinta, snapped Uni’s

shutout bid in the seventh against reliever David Ko, scoring twice.

With one out, Mesa’s Nathan Hunter singled to left field, then Dan

Bitler reached safely on catcher’s interference. An out later, and with

both runners moving up 90 feet and into scoring position, No. 9 hitter

Adam Beltran singled home two runs with a ground ball in the hole to

left.

Bauermeister said his team wasn’t aggressive enough at the plate

against Warner and, at times, played “tentatively” in the field.

“If we go out and play the way we can, we should be OK (today at 2

p.m. against host Capistrano Valley in the fifth and final Newport Elks

Tournament game),” Bauermeister said. “If we’re not aggressive, we’ll go

home after five innings. Then we played (PCL favorite) Northwood on

Tuesday, so we’d better start getting good real fast.”

After Stone’s first-inning home run, the Trojans padded their lead

with another run in the third as leadoff hitter Matt Nobe reached first

on a wild pitch after striking out and eventually scored on Ryan

Ferguson’s ground-rule double.

University scored three runs in the fifth inning, sparked by

Ferguson’s two-run double to left.

Cabico ended the inning by striking out Jake Kucheck, then covering

home and applying the tag on Warner from his blindside after the third

strike got away from the catcher.

In the sixth, Stone’s grand slam broke it open, 9-0, before Mesa got

on the scoreboard. Stone finished 3 for 3 with three runs scored and five

RBIs, while Ferguson was 3 for 4 with three RBIs.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

University 9, Costa Mesa 2

Score by Innings

University 101 034 0 - 9 10 0

Costa Mesa 000 000 2 - 2 7 3

Warner, Ko (7) and Sagud; Cabico, Garcia and Carrasco. W - Warner,

1-1. L - Cabico. 2B - Warner (U), Ferguson (U) 2, McCollauch (U). HR -

Stone (U) 2.