May 15, 2024

OC Sports Zone: Community First

Two Loara pitchers combine on no-hitter; Irvine, Villa Park and Woodbridge also win

Loara pitchers Patrick Monroe and Ryan Rudd teamed up to throw a no-hitter Tuesday as the Saxons defeated Santiago 16-0 to remain atop the Garden Grove League.

Monroe, who threw one no-hitter this year and one last season, threw the first four innings striking out four. (To read more about Monroe’s other no-hitters, please click here). Rudd finished out striking out two.

Loara (12-0 in league) was led by Jose Saldana, who was 4 for 5 with two doubles and six RBI. The Saxons (14-8 overall) banged out 17 hits.

Also Tuesday:

Irvine 6, Portola 0: Jamison King pitched well for Portola but Irvine was able to get un-tracked and capture the Pacific Coast League victory.

Irvine (14-8, 8-4) broke a shutout with two runs in the fourth inning and added four more in the seventh. The Vaqueros moved into a tie for second place with Northwood, which lost to Beckman 9-3.

“Their guy King was a stud yet again,” said Irvine Coach Gabriel Cota. “He absolutely kept us in check. However,  like we’ve done all year, we continued to fight and were able to get the job done in the end. I’m really happy to see all of our guys contribute and be a part of our effort.”

Casey Kudell led Irvine going 3 for 3 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored.

Eddie Del Pozo was 1 for 1 with an RBI.

Ryan Barlow pitched a shutout for Irvine, allowing four hits and striking out four.

Portola fell to 4-15 overall and 1-11 in league play.

Villa Park 8, Yorba Linda 2: The Spartans (12-13, 6-0) clinched a share of their first league title in 15 years.

Woodbridge 12, University 11: A walk-off single by Jeff Quezada in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Warriors (10-13, 4-8) past the Trojans (9-14, 4-8) in a Pacific Coast League game at Ryan Lemmon Stadium.

Matt Spear had four hits, a double, three RBI and two runs scored for the Warriors. Grant Martine had two double, an RBI and three runs scored, Lucas Budgell had two hits and three runs scored, Luke DeVries had two hits and an RBI and Quezada had a run scored and two RBI for Woodbridge.

“I was extremely proud of our team today,” said Woodbridge Coach Ryan Brucker. “It would have been real easy to cash it in in the eighth when we went down by three runs, but they kept competing and found a way to tie the game. Everybody contributed and it was a true team effort. DeVries and Quezada had huge at bats. It was a nice win for us.”

Marina 3, Laguna Beach 2: Cory Lewis pitched seven innings with three strikeouts to lead the Vikings (16-9, 4-2) in a Wave League game.