Horth's shutout helps Woodbridge grab share of second

IRVINE - Woodbridge left-hander Brandon Horth was dominant on the mound Tuesday night, helping the Warriors defeat Irvine, 4-0, in a Pacific Coast League baseball game at Ryan Lemmon Stadium.

Horth (5-3) struck out 10 and allowed two hits to help Woodbridge (14-11, 8-6) move into a tie for second place with Northwood.

Horth also helped himself at the plate with three hits, including a triple in the first inning. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Trevor Walker.

"Everything was on, except for my change-up," Horth said. "The arm felt good and it felt like I had good velocity behind the ball.

"I think our team is getting excited as it comes down to the wire. We're getting pumped for the playoffs."

Horth, who walked one and hit one batter, had a no-hitter until the fifth inning when David Cota lined a single to center field. He finished strong, getting a game-ending double play.

"He was attacking the zone," Woodbridge coach Tim Murray said. "When he's on the mound, we got a really good chance to win the game. He's a tough guy to beat, I'm glad he's on our side."

Woodbridge added two runs in the second inning, cashing in three errors by Irvine (5-17, 1-13). Matt Budgell reached on an error and scored on a balk,

Matt Schneble also reached on an error and scored on a squeeze bunt by Forrest Djavaherian. Horth had an RBI single in the fourth inning to drive in Djavaherian, who had doubled.

Irvine had just one runner reach second. Horth struck out the side in the first inning.

"To go down looking twice in the first inning, that's not a good way to get off," Irvine coach Keith Szczudlak said. "We got to swing the bat and be aggressive. That's how we attacked him (Horth) the first time we played him and we got some hits.

"If you let him get comfortable and get in a rhythm, we're going to be in trouble.

"We need some guys to step up and swing the bat a little."