Baseball finishes strong, beating Calvary twice

In a week where it had nothing to lose, the Laguna Beach High baseball team gained plenty by posting a pair of impressive victories over Calvary Chapel.

On Wednesday, Laguna led all the way in upending the Orange Coast League-leading Eagles, 7-4, in the regular-season finale for both teams at Vanguard University.

Senior Nathan Pickett earned a complete-game victory. He surrendered just one earned run and struck out nine to increase his county-leading season strikeout total to 91.

Offensively, senior Bill Sanders began the Laguna scoring with an RBI double in the top of the first inning. Senior Dominick Robusto delivered an RBI double and senior Trevor Pierce and junior Dalton Sype each had an RBI single in the second inning, sophomore Gabe Stansbury an RBI single in the fourth and Robusto completed the scoring with a solo home run in the sixth.

In the first of two games between the teams this week, Robusto clubbed a grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning to break a tie Monday and send Laguna onward to a 13-9 home field victory.

His game-changing hit broke a 7-7 tie and accounted for four of the seven runs the Breakers scored in the fifth.

Robusto previously drove in a run during a four-run fourth inning for the Breakers.

Pickett also homered, his two-run shot in the second inning bringing the Breakers into a 2-2 tie. He also drove in two runs on a double in the fourth.

Senior Mike Bradvica, in relief of junior Zach Nuno, notched his second win.

Entering the week, Laguna was 0-2 against Calvary Chapel, having dropped two- and one-run games in earlier league action.

“We played them well every time we played,” Laguna Coach Dave Dopf said. “Coming into this week, we knew we had nothing to lose. I think everybody counted us out after we dropped two to Costa Mesa. But we came back to beat Estancia twice then Calvary in that first game Monday.

“I’m proud of the way these guys finished.”

The two wins over the Eagles this week allowed Laguna to end its regular season with a 15-13 record. The Breakers evened their league mark at 6-6 and tied Costa Mesa for second-place behind Calvary Chapel.

Costa Mesa, however, is designated the league’s second-place team and earned a playoff berth by virtue of a league sweep of Laguna.

Only the top two teams in the four-team Orange Coast League are guaranteed postseason bids.

Dopf said that Laguna would petition the CIF-Southern Section office for an at-large berth into the Division III playoffs which begin next week.

In boys’ tennis

Laguna opened the CIF-Southern Section Division IV playoffs Thursday with a first-round match at San Gabriel Valley League champion Gahr of Cerritos. The score was not available at press time.

A win by Laguna, the Orange Coast League runner-up, would advance the Breakers to a second-round match at 3 p.m. Friday. They’d take on the winner of another Thursday first-round matchup.