SANTA ANA – Control was an issue for every pitcher that went to the mound during the El Modena and Foothill baseball game Friday at Foothill High.
Four pitchers combined for five hit batters and four wild pitches, nearly all it proving costly for their teams.
But El Modena starter Zach Hill, who struggled early, got big outs when he needed them, enabling the Vanguards to come from behind for a 6-3 victory over the No. 9 Knights in a Crestview League game.
Hill hit two batters, threw two wild pitches and gave up five hits and three runs over the first three innings, allowing the Knights to take a 3-1 lead.
But the senior allowed only one hit over the final four frames. He also picked a runner off first base in the fifth, pitched out of a jam in the sixth and retired the side in order in the seventh after the Vanguards (5-5, 1-1) took a three-run lead in the top half of the inning.
“I think when he got out of those jams, his confidence picked up a little bit,” El Modena coach Justin Kliner said. “He challenged those guys late in the game and did a good job for us.”
After the Vanguards scored a run in the top of the first, Griffin Shelby, Chad Castillo and Trevor Worden each delivered RBI singles to give the Knights (9-3, 1-1) a 3-1 lead.
In the fifth, El Modena made the score 3-3 on an RBI double from Frankie Islas and run-scoring single from Juan Hernandez.
The Knights had trouble in the seventh.
Islas and A.J. Esperanza were both hit to start off the inning. Hernandez then laid down a sacrifice bunt, intended to move the runners to second and third. But an errant throw to third sailed into the outfield, allowing Islas to score the go-ahead run.
Two batters later Kyle Rasmussen and Benjamin Mendoza each singled home a run to give the Vanguards a three-run cushion.
“It was a gutty performance by us today,” Kliner said. “It was a great team win for us. A lot of guys contributed.”
