Strong pitching, timely hitting lifts Woodbridge past Beckman in non-league game

Vincent DeMarco pitched the first six innings Thursday to notch the win. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Woodbridge and Beckman baseball teams have had some battles in Pacific Coast League play over the years, often for the league title.

The two rivals aren’t in the same league after re-leaguing: Woodbridge remains in the Pacific Coast League and Beckman moves to the Sea View League.

But the series continued Thursday afternoon with a non-league game and Woodbridge captured a 3-0 win over Beckman on a 90-degree day at Patriot Park.

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Woodbridge starting pitcher, junior Vincent DeMarco got the victory, pitching the first six innings. DeMarco (2-0) allowed two hits and struck out nine. Reliever Caden Camacho pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing one hit and striking out two.

“It’s a really tough place to play and Coach (Kevin) Lavalle is a good coach and when you come in here, you know you’re going to play a well coached team,” said Woodbridge Coach Ryan Brucker. “I’m real happy with the way Vince pitched, he threw a really good game and he earned that win today.

“And Caden coming in to close it out, you couldn’t ask for a better pitching performance from either of them and I thought we swung the bat pretty well. They did a good job of scattering hits from us after the third inning. I think we need to clean some things up, but I like where we’re at five games into the season. If we can clean some things up on offense and be a little more aggressive, I think we have a pretty chance to make a run at it when we get to league.”

Woodbridge (4-1) struck early to grab the opening lead. In the first inning, Nevan Namgoong singled and advanced to third on a double by DeMarco. Nolan Stottlemyer then drove home the first run with a sacrifice fly to right field. Following a single by Caleb Camacho, Henry Uhrik delivered an RBI single to put the Warriors ahead 2-0.

In the second inning, Alex Johnson singled, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on DeMarco’s single.

DeMarco was pretty much in control. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Ethan Rhee walked and went to second on an error but was stranded there. The Patriots (2-4) also threatened in the sixth inning. Leadoff hitter Gus Powell singled and Gabe Yoon reached on an error. But DeMarco worked out of trouble.

Woodbridge outhit Beckman 10-3. Namgoong was 3 for 4 and also tripled in the fourth inning.

“It was great, we battled hard, we scored quick in the first, answered again in the second and we just played good defense the whole day, it really starts with defense,” DeMarco said. “If you don’t have that, you can’t put up a dub. I felt I did pretty good, I was getting behind in counts early but I was doing a good job bouncing back and filling up the zone later and landing my off-speed.”

DeMarco enjoyed some friendly conversation with his friends on the Beckman team after the game.

“It was fun, it was different definitely, it was good seeing some of my friends on the other team,” he said. “It’s fun talking a little smack too, because it’s my boys, you got get competitive.”

Beckman had a memorable 2024 season winning the CIF Division 3 title. A banner in right center field acknowledges the achievement. But the Patriots, hit by major injuries, have struggled out of the gate in 2025.

“They’re a good team and really well coached,” said Beckman Coach Kevin Lavalle. “Vince is an excellent pitcher and there were times today when we competed and times we didn’t. We just got to pick up and learn from it and try and get better.”

Jagger Snitko, a standout infielder-pitcher on last year’s team, is one of five starters who are out for the season with injuries, Lavalle said.

“Jagger is out for the year and four other guys, so we’re young and trying to learn and sometimes lessons are hard to learn,” he said. “We just got to get more experience and start learning how to win. We play really well at times, and at times we’re going through growing pains, and obviously some guys hurt, we’re not alone in that regard, there are teams all across America who are dealing with injuries and aches and pains, our job is just to find 10 guys who want to go out and play baseball and compete.”

Thursday’s game was the only one scheduled between Woodbridge and Beckman this season.

Beckman will be in the five-team Sea View League with San Juan Hills, El Toro, Mission Viejo and San Clemente.

Also of note, long-time Orange County coach Bob Flint, who celebrated his 80th birthday Wednesday, is back in the dugout as pitching coach for the Warriors after watching some games from the stands last season and seems to be enjoying returning to help Brucker.

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com