LaRue Hits Three Homers in Santa Margarita Victory

Mike LaRue hit three home runs and drove in six runs as Santa Margarita, ranked eighth in Orange County, beat No. 4 Fountain Valley, 8-4, in a round-robin game Monday at the Pride of the Coast baseball tournament.

LaRue hit a home run in the second inning and a three-run shot in the fifth to tie it, 4-4. Teammate Nick Mosich, who hit his fourth homer, and Jeff Kuno, who hit his fifth, hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the sixth and LaRue capped the inning with a two-run home run. He has eight home runs for Santa Margarita (10-2).

In another tournament game:

Estancia 5, Orange Lutheran 4--Mario Romo hit a three-run homer in the second for host Estancia (2-6-1). Tim Smith went four for four with three doubles for Orange Lutheran (2-7).

Corona del Mar 11, Costa Mesa 0--Ryan Lewis, a junior left-hander, pitched a no-hitter with four strikeouts and four walks for Corona del Mar. Ryan Achterberg and Mark Hatfield each hit a grand slam as Corona del Mar scored eight runs in the fifth inning.

Laguna Beach 6, Bolsa Grande 4--Ramy Amador’s RBI in a three-run sixth innings gave Laguna Beach (5-6) the lead.

In the Cliff Classic tournament:

Brethren Christian 18, Los Angeles Pacific Hills 0--Erik Jensen struck out 14 and walked four in pitching his first no-hitter in the first-round game. Aaron Ireland hit for the cycle and drove in three runs for Brethren Christian.

In the National Classic:

Capistrano Valley 8, Pittsburgh (Pa.) Seton LaSalle 2--Rik Currier hit a grand slam in the second for Capistrano Valley (5-4-1).

Mater Dei 13, Mt. Brook (Ala.) 9--Trailing, 9-5, Mater Dei’s Pat Manning hit a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth to pull the Monarchs even, then Rod Perry hit a home run to put the Monarchs (8-2) ahead for good, highlighting an eight-run inning.

Manning finished with six RBIs and Perry went four for four with two runs scored.

North Augusta (S.C.) 4, Canyon 3--Senior second baseman Jeff Leuenberger hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh for Canyon (9-2).

El Dorado 2, Washington (Ohio) 1 (8 innings)--Mark Wade had a two-out triple in the bottom of the eighth to drive in Greg Posein, who had singled.

Esperanza 6, Casa Grande (Ariz.) 2--Tommy Nicholson had three hits, scored two runs and drove in three for Esperanza (9-2).

In quarterfinal games of the Wienerschnitzel tournament:

University 10, Long Beach Millikan 4--Mike Gamble pitched a six-hitter and struck out eight and Brian Sparks had three RBIs for host University (8-4).

Marina 7, El Toro 4--Kenny LaPoint had three hits, including a double, drove in a run and scored a run for Marina (7-5).

Trabuco Hills 8, Sabino (Tucson) 1--Adam Anderson had a two-run double as Trabuco Hills scored six times in the second inning. Sophomore Eric Bowden pitched a six hitter also for Trabuco Hills.

In consolation games:

Los Alamitos 3, Irvine 2 (9)--Kevin Sullivan singled to score Rollie Wing, who had three hits and two runs scored, from third with one out in the bottom of the ninth for Los Alamitos (3-8).

In the Santa Ana Elks tournament quarterfinals:

La Quinta 8, Reno (Nev.) 4 (8)--Gerald Laird had four hits, including a two-run home run in the eighth for La Quinta (11-3).

Pacifica 7, Diamond Bar 5--Wes Choate hit a one-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to win it for Pacifica (7-5).

In the Rowland tournament:

Westminster advances to semifinals--Chris Brewer pitched three innings of relief to earn the victory, 8-6, victory over La Verne Bonita, then he pitched a scoreless seventh to earn his second save in a 4-3 second-round victory over West Covina.