Garden Grove League Prep Baseball : Paulsen Gets Some Help in La Quinta’s 6-1 Win

Troy Paulsen, La Quinta High School’s leading hitter, had his usual offensive game Friday. The shortstop collected three hits, including a two-run home run, to lead the Aztecs to a 6-1 win over Bolsa Grande in a Garden Grove League game played on the Matadors’ field.

But for once, Paulsen received a little help from his friends. His teammates chipped in with five hits and two RBIs.

Now, eight hits and six runs may not seem like much, but for La Quinta, which had been averaging 2.7 runs and 4.8 hits per game in league with a team batting average of about .200, it’s an offensive explosion.

“This is like World War III,” Dave Demarest, Aztec coach, said. “This is the most we’ve ever hit in league.”

John Park had two hits, and Joey Dunn and Mark Dion each hit sacrifice flies, as La Quinta moved into a third-place tie with the Matadors, one game behind second-place Garden Grove and two behind first-place Santiago.

It didn’t appear that the Aztecs would even challenge for a Southern Section playoff berth back in late March after they opened league play with three losses.

But with two games against Santiago next week and two against last-place Los Amigos to close the season, La Quinta, which has won three straight, has moved into position to challenge for the league title.

“The difference is that in the beginning of the season, we made mistakes and paid for them,” Demarest said. “Now, we’re taking advantage of (opponents’) mistakes. We worked on pitching and defense. Hitting can’t carry you, but with pitching and defense, you can compete.”

The Aztecs played errorless ball Friday and turned two double plays. First baseman Terry Bryant made a nice lunging catch of Robbie Walker’s grounder and threw him out in the second inning. Bryant later snared Tony Beall’s liner and turned it into a double play in the fourth. Dion, La Quinta’s catcher, threw out two runners attempting to steal.

Junior right-hander Randy McGlenn allowed five hits in four innings to earn the win and improve his record to 6-1, and James Marquez threw three hitless innings of relief.

Bolsa Grande, on the other hand, could do little right. The Matadors had a runner thrown out at second attempting to advance on a wild throw in the third and another picked off first in the fourth. They made three errors, which helped La Quinta score a run in the fifth and two in the sixth.

Some of the Matadors’ base-running follies prompted Vern Nelson, Bolsa Grande coach, to turn to his dugout in the third inning and scream to his players, “Quit being stupid!”

The Matadors were tied for first place last week, but three straight losses have hurt their playoff chances. They scored their only run against La Quinta in the first inning, when Rick Stieb doubled and Beall singled to tie the score at 1-1.

But the Aztecs went ahead for good in the third when Dunn walked and Paulsen followed with a prodigious home run that sailed well over the head of center fielder Mike Valdez. Paulsen, who has signed a letter of intent to play at Stanford, is now batting .527 (39 for 74) with five homers and 30 RBIs.

In other Garden Grove League action:

Rancho Alamitos 1, Garden Grove 0--Pat Davis pitched a three-hitter and struck out six, and shortstop Roger Carter scored the game’s only run in the sixth inning, as the Vaqueros knocked the Argonauts out of first place.

Carter singled to open the sixth, went to second on an wild pickoff attempt, and then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. With two out, designated hitter Steve Collier singled to score Carter.

Santiago 12, Los Amigos 6--The Cavaliers collected 16 hits and pitcher Anthony Candelas improved his record to 5-2 in the easy win. Shortstop Tim Reynolds went 4 for 4 and first baseman Rick Burns was 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs.

Santiago is 8-3 in league play. Los Amigos is 1-10.