Baseball: Eagles let one slip away

Tony Altobelli

NEWPORT BEACH - The Estancia High baseball team battled Garden

Grove to the bitter end, but fell short, 8-7, Saturday in the fifth-place

game of the Costa Mesa-Foothill Tournament.

“Like most teams, we’re still trying to catch up from our missed time

due to the rain,” Estancia Coach Doug Deats said. “The kids are learning

and they’re playing hard. You can’t ask for much more than that.”

The Eagles (2-2) trailed, 5-1, before scoring two runs in the top of

the fifth and three in the sixth.

Jordan Hart had a two-RBI single in the sixth and later scored on a

single by Brent Davis.

The game was tied, 6-6, when a costly Estancia dropped fly ball

allowed Garden Grove (3-1) to score two runs in the sixth inning to

regain the lead.

Estancia answered with a run in the seventh inning and had the bases

loaded with only one out, but a strikeout and a picked off runner ended

the game.

Deats was pleased with the strong play from senior Andy Romo, who

walked three times, stole two bases and scored a run.

“He’s one heck of an athlete and one heck of a kid,” Deats said. “I

wish he would have played baseball all four years. He’s picking up the

game on the run and he’s doing a great job for us.”

J.D. Goff went 2 for 3 for the Eagles, who host Los Amigos Monday at

3:15 p.m.

COSTA MESA-FOOTHILL TOURNAMENT

Fifth place

Garden Grove 8, Estancia 7

Estancia 010 023 1 - 7 7 2

Garden Grove 300 212 x - 8 13 1

Hart, Flori (5), Ortiz (6) and Davis; Schaeffer, Crisantos (5),

Sutherland (6), Fernandez (7) and Bennett. W - Sutherland. L - Ortiz,

0-2. S - Fernandez. 2B - Goff (E), Schaeffer (GG), Bennett (GG), MacLeth

(GG).