Sunset’s best make noise

With two weeks left in the regular season, the Edison High and Marina baseball teams are perhaps right where they should be in the Sunset League race.

They’re tied for first after thrilling fans with a trio of high-quality games in front of some big crowds. One member of the crowd even brought a cowbell to Friday’s showdown.

It left some other Vikings fans in the standing-room-only crowd to echo Christopher Walken’s famous line in the sketch from “Saturday Night Live.” The one where the Walken band-manager character said he had a fever “and the only prescription is more cowbell.”

As it turned out, though, a Chad Lewis home run was a winning prescription for Marina and a tough pill to swallow for Edison.

The junior third baseman’s two-run blast in the top of the sixth inning helped Marina win, 4-3, at Edison High, and climb back into a tie for first place in league with the Chargers.

Edison, ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division I coaches’ poll released Monday, played at Newport Harbor Wednesday. No. 4 Marina was at Los Alamitos. Neither team can likely afford to slip up the rest of the way if it wants to keep a share of the title.

The league race will end next week, when the Chargers face Los Alamitos and Marina plays Esperanza. But Lewis’ home run didn’t stop so easily.

“It kept going,” Lewis said of his fifth home run of the year, hit to right field on a 1-2 count. “At first I was like, ‘Ooh, that might have a chance,’ and then it kept going and going and went over. It’s the greatest feeling.”

Marina (19-3, 9-2 in league) feels the same after pulling even with Edison (16-4, 9-2). After losing earlier in the week to Edison, 2-1, Friday’s win was crucial for the Vikings. Another loss would have meant slipping two games back in the league race.

“We were thirsty for this one,” said Marina senior pitcher Paul Strong, who improved to 6-1. “This is the most intense series I’ve ever played in my life. They’re an amazing team, and it was definitely big to win this one. Now we’re tied back with league again. The slates are clean.”

Strong gave up three runs in the third inning, although two of those were unearned as the Vikings made a pair of errors. But the UC Irvine-bound lefty came back strong, only allowing one runner to reach second base from that point on. He struck out eight and walked three.

“Errors, hits, they’re going to happen in baseball,” Strong said. “It’s just a matter of how well you can deal with it. I feel I can manage well in those situations, and it’s just how well you can come back. You deal with it. You go out and just pitch your butt off.”

Senior Pablo Contreras had a two-RBI single in the first for Marina. Vinny Ponce scored after he collided with Edison senior catcher Donald Sneed just up the third-base line, jarring the ball loose.

“[Pitcher] Kurt [Heyer] didn’t have his command early in the game,” Edison Coach Steve Lambright said. “He walked two guys, which is uncharacteristic of him. Unfortunately, Contreras is a dead-red fastball guy. [Heyer] got a little too much of the plate, and the kid was ready and he jumped on it.”

But Edison responded in the third. Senior shortstop Ryan Miller reached on an error, and senior Chris Czerniachowski’s double down the third-base line scored pinch-runner Sean Whiteman. Junior Josh Lesinski followed with an RBI single and Sneed’s grounder to short was bobbled, allowing Czerniachowski to score.

The back-and-forth nature of the game — and the series — continued in the top of the sixth. Heyer had retired 14 straight batters, but Ponce broke that up with his second single of the game, to center.

“I was just trying to hit something solid,” Ponce said. “If I get out, I get out, but hit something solid. Thank God I did, luckily I did.”

Lewis followed that with his blast, taking advantage of a hanging slider.

“On Wednesday, I had a chance to win the game with one out and guys on first and second,” Lewis said. “I didn’t get it done. So going into that at-bat [Friday], I was thinking I had to clutch up for my team right here. This was where I could make it all up.”

All three league games between the schools were decided by one run.

“These two teams are evenly matched, and both well-deserving to be Sunset League champs,” Lambright said. “But both of us still have to go to work.”

In other baseball action:

 Ocean View lost twice to Orange, including a 2-1 loss Friday, damaging the Seahawks’ chances of repeating as Golden West League champions. Blake Walker doubled in Friday’s game for Ocean View (13-9, 6-5 in league).

Freddy Sepulveda was lights out after the first inning, but Orange already had the two runs it needed to win.

“We just couldn’t get the guys in at the right time,” said Coach Shane Borowski, whose team plays Saddleback this week. “Saddleback is a big matchup. They have a good pitcher [Randy Villegas] and they’ve beaten Orange this year.”

 Huntington Beach has won five straight games and improved to 7-4 in the Sea View League after a 7-2 win over Northwood Friday.

Barry Luke got the win and fellow senior Beau Amaral stole two bases for the Oilers, who have all but clinched a CIF playoff spot.

“We’ve put ourselves in a good position,” Coach Benji Medure said.

The Oilers, a game behind Foothill for second place, tangle with first-place El Toro this week.

 Brethren Christian lost to Oxford Academy, 5-3, in an Academy League game Tuesday. Sophomore Bobby Frisch was two for three with a solo home run and a double, while Chris Brown and Brad Hess both added doubles for the Warriors (2-10 in league).

PRELUDE TO A CHAMPIONSHIP?

The Edison and Marina baseball teams, ranked No. 4 and 5 in Southern California by the Los Angeles Times, were tied for the Sunset League lead through Tuesday. They played three epic league games against each other this season.

 Edison 4, Marina 3 – March 27

Senior Chris Czerniachowski hit a walk-off, bases-loaded double for the Chargers, and senior Donald Sneed hit a home run. Kurt Heyer got the win.

 Edison 2, Marina 1 (10 innings) – April 29

Sneed’s two-out RBI single to left-center scored pinch-runner Jon Torres. Heyer again got the win, pitching three innings in relief of starter Henry Owens.

 Marina 4, Edison 3 – May 1

Junior Chad Lewis’ two-run home run in the sixth lifted the Vikings into a tie for first. Senior Paul Strong got the win.