Lakewood, Wilson get early offense in Moore League baseball wins

LONG BEACH >> Everything came together for the Lakewood High baseball team to exorcise a demon and grab a share of the Moore League lead on Friday at Blair Field. The Lancers broke out offensively while riding a complete-game performance from ace Bryan Sandoval to beat Millikan 4-1, their first Moore League victory over the Rams since May 1, 2013. They were outscored by the Rams 27-7 over that span.

“Yeah, we talked about it,” Sandoval said of the losing streak. “We wanted to come into the game like there’s no one better than us. And we showed up.”

Lakewood (14-11, 7-1) finished with 10 hits and scored once in each of the first four iings. Millikan (17-7, 7-1) had only given up three runs in league play coming into the game, and the Lancers had scored less than two runs in each of their last six losses to the Rams. Lakewood junior first baseman Jake Habelitz had two-out RBI singles in the first and fourth iings. He finished with three hits and an intentional walk. Both RBIs came on the first pitch of the at-bat.

“We’ve always had the potential to hit the ball,” said Lakewood assistant coach John Yakel. Head coach Spud O’Neil is still out sick.

“We had some success being aggressive (at spring break tournaments) and that carried into today,” he said. “We’ve put the at-bats in their hands and let them swing.”

“I’ve been working on being more aggressive, swinging early in the count and keeping my swing short,” Habelitz said. “But being aggressive at the plate is a mindset. The physical stuff comes with it.”

Sandoval pitched seven iings and allowed six hits while hitting two batters and striking out four. It was his fourth league win in six starts. After he gave up a run in the fourth iing, the left-hander only needed 25 pitches to retire 10 of the last 11 batters he faced in the final three iings.

“Nothing phases him,” Yakel said. “He’s our guy. When he’s dialed in and we’re playing defense behind him we can complete with anyone.”

“I just trust my defense and the early runs are always a confidence boost,” Sandoval said.

The Lakewood defense shined in the top of the first iing with a double play and a play at the plate. With two outs and Diego Alarcon at second base, Millikan senior Andrew Talley singled though the left side. Lakewood sophomore left fielder Kevin Kolb came up throwing and catcher Ricky Coffman placed the tag on Alarcon just in time.

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“They made every play and won all three phases of the game,” Millikan coach Ron Keester said. The loss snapped a seven-game wiing streak for the Rams, and Keester said his team took it hard.

“They looked crushed,” he said. “Hopefully we can use this experience as a positive and right the ship.”

Millikan starter Max Pappas didn’t make it out of the fourth iing after giving up all four runs. Lakewood put a ruer on base in all but one iing against Pappas and reliever Kelly Hawkshaw. Leadoff hitter Carter White reached base all four times for the Lancers and had three hits. Lakewood is now tied for first in league with Millikan.

WILSON 11, POLY 0 >> These two old rivals couldn’t muster four runs in 12 iings of their first league game, but the Bruins scored four times in the second iing to run away with the win in the Blair Field nightcap.

“This is a breath of life for us,” Wilson coach Andy Hall said. “We’ve come through a rough stretch and we haven’t hit our peak yet so this is a good time to do it.”

Jerry Granillo, Cole Fleming and Ryan Guerero had the RBIs in the second and Wilson (13-9, 7-2) took advantage of Poly errors to score unearned runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh iings. Wilson pitcher Zach Pettway added a two-RBI double in the sixth iing and reached base four times. The senior UCLA commit pitched the complete game and gave up five hits while striking out seven with no walks.

“I’m feeling better physically every game and that’s probably the best I’ve felt out there all season,” Pettway said.

Wilson has won eight of the last nine league games against Poly, and the Jackrabbits (12-14, 5-4) haven’t scored more than two runs against the Bruins since April 19, 2013.