Rybarcyzk, Mesa break out

COSTA MESA ? First day of spring break and there was no place John Rybarcyzk wanted to be more than school.

Rybarcyzk even arrived at Costa Mesa High earlier than necessary. The junior took in the first game of the day in the Beach Pit Classic, then went 4 for 4 with a home run and a double for the Mustangs, who beat Santiago, 11-2, Monday to snap a six-game losing streak.

That’s typical for Rybarcyzk, who when given Friday off from baseball practice, decided to devote two hours to hitting instead of video games or friends. The hitting work was needed, Rybarcyzk said, because he had not been his typical self in the batter’s box.

Rybarcyzk was held hitless in four games prior to Friday, a slump he showed signs of righting Saturday with a double against Westlake.

“I hit this wall,” Rybarcyzk said. “I was in a slump for like two weeks. I worked on being quick to the ball and getting my timing down. I had lost my confidence. It’s all confidence.”

As goes Rybarcyzk, so goes Costa Mesa (7-9). In the Mustangs’ seven wins this season, Rybarcyzk is 13 for 20 with three home runs. He scored four times against the Cavaliers.

In his final at-bat in the sixth inning ? with Costa Mesa comfortably ahead, 10-2 ? Rybarcyzk was looking curveball, got a fastball, but still blasted the offering over the left-field fence 335 feet away.

“I just wanted to drive the ball,” he said. “Just hit it hard no matter what.”

His teammates did the same, generating 11 hits and scoring the most runs in a game in more than three weeks. Mike Molina and Andrew Millian each had a pair of hits.

“Hopefully it was a wake-up call to our hitters,” Costa Mesa Coach Jim Kiefer said. “We had a rough couple of weeks.”

Junior Garrick Williams pitched four shutout innings for the win. He later said his teammates refrained from sniping at one another during the losing streak.

“We never split apart,” Williams, who improved to 3-2, said. “You never want to start blaming people on your team.”

Looking for a win, Kiefer switched up his lineup. Costa Mesa opened the game with a freshman, three sophomores and only one senior on the field.

Molina, the lone freshman on the team, plays the pressure-filled position of shortstop. Molina ended a Santiago threat in the second and showed his range, fielding a grounder behind second before tagging the bag and throwing to first for a double play.

“He’s a good athlete,” Kiefer said of Molina, who even ranged over to the second-base side to field a grounder. “He’s very competitive.”

Sophomore right fielder John Salyer, called up from the junior varsity for the tournament, made a case for remaining on the team in the fifth. With Cavaliers on first and second, Salyer fielded a single and threw out Ramon Solares at the plate. He closed out the inning with a sliding catch on the right-field line.

“That was a SportsCenter catch,” Kiefer said of Salyer’s defensive gem. Salyear was also 1 for 2 with a run and an RBI.

After Willams breezed through the first throwing only seven pitches, Costa Mesa’s offense began to click. With two outs, Ribarcyzk doubled over the left fielder to put runners on second and third. A wild pitch and an infield single netted two runs and Millian, a sophomore, doubled in another for a 3-0 lead.

Costa Mesa led, 4-0, in the third on an infield single by Millian with the bases loaded. With no outs, Kiefer called for a squeeze and Williams got the bunt down to up the lead to 5-0.

The Mustangs tacked on four more in the inning for a 9-0 edge.

Santiago fell to 4-6.

Costa Mesa plays host to Pacifica today at 3 p.m. in a consolation semifinal.