Beckman was led by (from left) Paul Murrow, Lucas Welch and Cade McGuire. (Photo Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone)
Lucas Welch pitched a five-hit complete game shutout and Paul Murrow and Cade McGuire each homered to lead Beckman to a 3-0 Pacific Coast League victory over Irvine at Beckman High Friday afternoon.
Welch improved to 5-2 on the season as the right hander threw 100 pitches, struck out seven and walked three and the Patriots remained in second-place in league with three games remaining and within striking distance of league-leading Woodbridge. The Patriots (16-5) and Warriors (18-3) meet twice next week.
“My fastball was working well but my slider was my punch out pitch,” said Welch, who struck out the side in the fifth and lowered his ERA to 1.04 in 40.1 innings of work this season. “Even in the last inning when they had runners on, I still felt the odds were in my favor to get them out. Sometimes the last out is the hardest one to get. It’s all a mental game.”
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Photos courtesy Rosalene Ledendecker
Patriots coach Kevin Lavalle said he had no intention of taking Welch out.
“He’s been our horse all year,” said Lavalle. “I told him in the sixth inning that I wasn’t going to take him out. I know he’s in great shape and I know he wasn’t tired. He doesn’t have a problem making 100 pitches a game and he had great control today.”
With one out in the second inning, McGuire launched a towering homer – his third of the season – to left center field to give Beckman a 1-0 lead.
“Our team is really coming together, our pitchers have us in every game,” said McGuire, the Patriots catcher. “I think Lucas had his best command of the whole season today. He had excellent control of his breaking ball and his slider.”
Beckman upped its lead to 2-0 in the third inning on a two-out, RBI double by Ashton Kanegae. Murrow made it 3-0 when he led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo shot to left. Murrow has been on a tear lately, as the Patriots first baseman has nine hits in his last 15 at bats, he’s scored 8 runs and has hit 4 HRs and has 8 RBIs.
“I feel like my timing is very good lately and I’ve been seeing the ball really well,” said Murrow. “I feel like I’m in a groove and we’re winning and our confidence is building.”
Beckman has won five straight and improved to 8-3 at home this season.
Irvine (12-11) had excellent scoring opportunities but couldn’t cash in. Irvine had two runners on and one out in both the third and sixth innings, but Welch was able to pitch out of jams both times. Irvine loaded the bases in the seventh with two outs, but Welch got Kade Zimmerman to ground out to end the game.
“When you don’t score runs, you’re not going to win,” said Vaqueros coach Gabriel Cota. “But our guys competed. Beckman is a Division 1 team and we competed with them. I’m proud of our guys. I thought our pitcher, Caden Shaffer, threw a great game but we didn’t have the energy we needed to win today.”
Shaffer pitched a complete game and gave up only five hits, struck out two and walked three batters. Irvine finishes its regular season with a game against Beckman on Monday. After Monday’s game, the Patriots have two games against Woodbridge which could decide the league title.
–Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone
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