ANAHEIM – The development of Nigel Ward continues.
The junior pitcher battled his way to a complete-game victory, allowing one run on three hits, to lead the Friars to a 4-1 victory over visiting Santa Margarita on Wednesday.
Ward (3-1) didn’t have his best stuff, but his ability escape potential jams was a big reason why the Friars picked up a victory that was important to their league title hopes.
Servite (12-7 overall) and Santa Margarita (10-8-1) are both 5-3 in league and on the heels of first-place JSerra.
“It was a battle,” Ward said. “Strikes were not very common. My stuff was moving and I was getting guys to ground into double plays and fly outs and it worked.”
Ward pitched around a leadoff single in the third and a leadoff walk in the fifth.
“He loves to compete,” Servite coach Jeff Sears said of Ward. “This is his first time up on varsity and he right in the fire.
“He’s progressed a lot. He’s more poised. He’s starting to trust (pitching) coach (Duane) Page’s process and believing in himself. We all believe in him; he has to believe in himself. Once he trusts in that process and believes in that process, good things are going to happen.”
In the sixth, Ward appeared to be in the deepest of trouble as the first two batters reached for the Eagles. Ward got Connor Hilburn to fly out left and Andrew Mendonca grounded into a 5-3 double play to end the threat.
Ward walked four, had three strikeouts and hit two batters.
Servite staked Ward to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Justin Westbrook scored on an error and Michael Flynn and Aaron Singh followed with RBI singles.
“They got a couple of hits, we walked a guy … Our pitcher made some pitches and got the ground ball he needed to get the double play and that changes everything,” Santa Margarita coach David Bacani said.
The Friars added another run in the fourth on an RBI single by Zach Huarte.
Dillon Miyashiro (2-3) took the loss for the Eagles.
Flynn, Huarte and Westbrook had two hits apiece for Servite.
The Friars and Eagles meet again Friday at Santa Margarita. The Friars won the teams’ first meeting, 7-3, on March 19.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
