Sports
El Toro's Baseball Team Splits Its Doubleheader With Top-Ranked Edison
Edison wins opener, 4-3, on walk-off single in seventh inning, but Chargers bounce back to take nightcap, 5-1, behind Garrett Mundell's complete game at UC Irvine.
El Toro's baseball team overcame adversity to split Tuesday’s doubleheader with top-ranked Edison at UC Irvine. It’s amazing what a team can overcome when it has two dominating pitchers at the top of its rotation.
The Chargers saw a 3-1 lead slip away in the front-end of the twin bill. Edison rallied to score three runs in the final two innings, spoiling El Toro pitcher Tyler Brashears’ six-inning, 12-strikeout performance.
The junior right-hander, who has committed to UC Irvine, looked awfully comfortable on the mound, mowing down opposing hitters with a consistent blend of fastballs and off-speed pitches. Brashears featured a deceptive curve that kept Edison's dangerous lineup off-balance.
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Edison, ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 coaches’ poll, eventually broke through late in the contest. Pinch-hitter Jake Lesinski singled home a run with two outs in the sixth inning. An El Toro throwing error on the same play allowed Edison to score again and knot the game at 3-3.
After going down in order in the top of the seventh, El Toro brought in relief pitcher Brett Hammond, who could only retire one batter before Edison sophomore Don Pierce scored the game-winning run.
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Pierce, who was hit by a pitch, advanced to second when outfielder Sean Whiteman was walked and scored when outfielder Jon Torres slapped his third single of the game through the right side of the infield.
“I thought we did a pretty good job in the first game and Edison was resilient by coming back,” El Toro coach Mike Gonzales said. “I’m proud of our guys for staying so focused in the second game after losing a tough one in the bottom of the seventh.”
Gonzales gave the ball to senior Garrett Mundell in the nightcap. The Fresno State signee was sensational, pitching all seven innings of El Toro’s 5-1 victory.
The 6-foot-6 right-hander submitted to some peer pressure on his way to the complete-game performance.
“[My teammates] told me we better win or I was going to be in a little bit of trouble,” Mundell said. “It really got me fired up to come out and throw.”
Mundell set up shop in the strike zone early and rode a reliable fastball. Of the 94 pitches he tossed, 62 were strikes. No Edison base-runner reached third base until the seventh inning.
El Toro’s offense did enough, although it wasn’t always pretty. The Chargers scored four of their five runs as a result of Edison errors. Catcher Gavin Collins picked up the team’s only RBI of the game with a third-inning sacrifice fly that scored lead-off hitter Matt Chapman to put El Toro ahead 3-0.
“Errors are going to be made in high school baseball,” Gonzales sad. “What we preach to the guys is to battle at the plate and put the ball in play. It’s important to put pressure on the defense.”
Mundell entered the final frame with a five-run cushion, which came in handy when Jonathan Brooks led off with a double followed by a Timmy Lopes single that advanced Brooks to third. Lesinski grounded into a fielder's choice, plating Brooks and putting Lopes on second. After getting pinch-hitter Roland Blackiston to gound out to second baseman Tim Alhanati, Mundell recorded only his second strikeout of the contest by fanning Pierce to end the game.
El Toro’s two starters combined to put up phenomenal numbers on Tuesday. Brashears and Mundell worked 13 innings, struck out 14, walked two and surrendered only three earned runs. The two-headed monster could only garner one win on the day, but Gonzales praised his pitchers.
"Both guys did a great job keeping hitters off-balance," Gonzales said. "They threw a lot of strikes against a great club. I commend them on throwing a ton of quality pitches when we needed it most."
Mundell improved his season record to 2-0 with the victory, while dropping his earned run average to 1.11 (three earned runs allowed in 19 innings). He’ll have a week to rest before El Toro (4-3) takes on Mission Viejo (4-2), ranked No. 8 in Division 2, at Saddleback College Wednesday in a South Coast League doubleheader.
Edison (6-1) travels to Fountain Valley (4-3) on Friday for a Sunset League opener.
Gonzales believes his team will build off a Tuesday that featured both highs and lows.
"I think each team was looking forward to this doubleheader," Gonzales said. "Regardless of the rankings and all that, we both play the game the right way.
"[Edison coach Steve Lambright] and I are friends, so this was a good matchup to schedule. We want to face the best teams we can because it will help us.”
