Baseball team squeezes past Golden West
Apr 05, 2008
Irvine Valley's baseball team bounced back from its worst Orange Empire Conference game this season with one of its better ones, especially on the mound.
Pitchers Danny Heben, Jared Haller and Dean Persinger combined to limit Golden West to just one run and six hits in a 2-1 victory for the Lasers Saturday afternoon at IVC.
"We needed this," IVC Coach Kent Madole said. "We only had four hits (in the game). We needed our pitchers to pick us up. Danny Heben was outstanding again."
The Lasers had lost to Cypress, 14-10, last Thursday at home. The win on Saturday improved the team's record to 23-10 overall and 7-3 in conference. IVC went into Saturday's game two games behind Orange Coast and Santa Ana for first place in conference.
Golden West slipped to 17-15 overaell and 2-8 in conference.
Heben got the win, improving to 7-1, after throwing seven innings and allowing just five hits and one run. Heben walked four, hit one batter and struck out five.
Haller relieved Heben in the eighth and pitched to two batters, retiring one, and then Persinger closed the door as usual.
The sophomore picked up his 12th save, throwing 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Persinger walked one batter and struck out three.
IVC's pitching needed to be good on Saturday because Golden West got a fine performance of its own on the hill from Jim Cooper.
Cooper went seven innings and allowed IVC only three hits. He walked three and struck out six.
But the Lasers did score both of their runs off of Cooper.
The first one came in the first. Left fielder Matt Ivanoff led off with a walk. Shortstop Abel Medina singled two batters later. With two outs, designated hitter Corey Thibault was hit by a pitch to load the bases and then catcher Alex Agortsas walked to bring in the run.
IVC didn't do much against Cooper until it scored again in the bottom of the seventh.
With the game tied, 1-1, Agortsas walked to lead off the inning and second baseman Sean Williams singled to put runners on first and second. Third baseman Vince Hungerford moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt.
Freshman Kory Burkhart stepped to the plate to pinch hit and after taking a pitch, laid down a bunt to squeeze home Agortsas from third.
It was the third time in two games that Burkhart had squeezed home a run.
"He really does a great job handling that kind of situation," Madole said of Burkhart. "It was a great bunt."
Haller and then Persinger did the rest for the Lasers.
Medina had two of IVC's hits in the game, finishing 2 for 4.
Ivanoff was 1 for 3 with a run scored, Williams was 1 for 3 and Agortsas went 0 for 1 with two walks, a run scored and one RBI.
IVC plays at Golden West on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.