Hot start as Saddlebacks broken

The Laguna Beach baseball team has gotten off to a hot start in the 2006 season.

Coach Dave Dopf’s Breakers won their third straight game by defeating Saddleback Tuesday, 9-4.

The victory allowed Laguna to finish in first place in its pool in the Foothill Division of the Newport Elks Tournament. The Breakers played at Garden Grove Thursday in a tournament semifinal game. The score was not available at press time.

Laguna had to rally from a 1-0 deficit Tuesday to defeat Saddleback. The Roadrunners took advantage of a pair of Laguna fielding errors in the top-half of the first inning to score, but gave up the tying run in the bottom of the inning when Sam Palfreyman laid down a bunt single, stole second base and scored on a double by Ryan Landry.

Saddleback got another unearned run in the top of the third to go up, 2-1, but Laguna answered promptly in the bottom-half of the inning. Calvin Mead lead off with a double, Landry singled and Noah Brewster followed with a towering home run that bounced off the elm trees in centerfield. With one out, Kevin Kelly got things going with a single, followed by a double by Garrett Rauch. Dalton Sype then laid down a perfect bunt on a squeeze play to score Kelly to give the Breakers a 5-2 advantage.

Saddleback cut the lead to 5-3 in the top of the fifth, but Laguna retaliated in the bottom of the inning when Brewster doubled to score Landry, who had singled.

Brewster concluded a stellar day at the plate by clocking another three-run home run, this one coming in the sixth, to put Laguna on top, 9-4.

Nathan Pickett got the pitching win. His complete game effort allowed Saddleback just one earned run. He struck out three and walked three.