Mustangs Rally Again to Beat El Toro
Two words El Toro baseball Coach Tom McCaffrey might want to ban in the Charger clubhouse for a while, after his team took a free fall in the South Coast League standings this week:
What if?
What if El Toro had managed a split--a reasonable goal--in its Wednesday and Friday games against South Coast League rival Trabuco Hills?
What if the Chargers hadn’t blown leads in each of their three regular-season games against the Mustangs?
And what if El Toro could have done more offensive damage Friday against Trabuco Hills after putting the leadoff man on base in every inning but the second?
The Chargers, looking to salvage at least one game in their series with the Mustangs, were left looking for answers after Trabuco Hills rallied from two runs down for a 5-2 victory at El Toro.
The Mustangs had rallied from deficits of 3-0 in the teams’ first meeting and 10-4 on Wednesday.
Trabuco Hills (10-4, 6-1), which began the week tied with the Chargers (7-6-1, 4-3) atop the league standings, now resides alone in first place, two games ahead of El Toro, Mission Viejo and Capistrano Valley.
“It’s a two-game swing in the series,” Mustang Coach Tim Ellis said. “That was what we were looking for.”
Said McCaffrey: “It’s extremely disappointing. It’s a big lesson, but we’re by no means conceding the league to anyone.”
El Toro led, 2-0, after Evan Whitaker’s two-run double in the first, but after that it was all Trabuco Hills. Brad Boster stroked a solo home run in the third inning and Mike Thompson added a two-run single in the fourth to give the Mustangs all the offense they would need.
Trabuco Hills starter Mike Collins (1-1), whose longest previous outing this season was 4 2/3 innings, made it stand up with a complete-game victory. Collins struck out five and walked two.
“It’s been a while since I played that well,” he said. “It felt good to come in there and get the victory.”
Collins owed a big assist to the Trabuco Hills defense, which bailed him out of several jams. Catcher Steve Sirbu threw out two baserunners attempting to steal second, and the Mustangs turned three inning-ending double plays.
El Toro’s Eric Walsh (1-3) also pitched a complete game, striking out 10.
In other South Coast League games:
Capistrano Valley 14, San Clemente 1 (6, mercy)--P.J. Mitchell had three hits, including a grand slam, and five RBIs for the visiting Cougars (8-6, 4-3). Scott Cheo added a two-run home run.
Mission Viejo 5, Dana Hills 3--The host Diablos (8-4, 4-3), who had only three hits, scored four runs in the fifth inning, two on a single by Billy Hart.
