BABE HERMAN TOURNAMENT : Rio Mesa Pelts Burbank in Opening Round, 16-4

After his game with Rio Mesa High, Burbank Coach Len Haynes spent 15 minutes trying to convince his team that they really aren’t as bad as it seemed Saturday afternoon. The players didn’t look convinced.

“You just tell them you like them,� Haynes said. “You give the kids that made the errors a hug and tell them you support them.�

Haynes should have hugged his pitching staff. Three Burbank pitchers were rocked for 15 hits as Rio Mesa beat the Bulldogs, 16-4, in the opening round of the Babe Herman tournament at Stengel Field in Glendale.

Rio Mesa sent 14 batters to the plate in the fourth inning, scoring eight runs and putting the game out of light-hitting Burbank’s reach.

“We’re getting used to our positions and lineup,� Rio Mesa Coach Pat Machado said, “So we’re swinging the bats well.�

Five Spartans had two hits each, and another four each had two runs batted in. Senior Sean Luft had a double and single in Rio Mesa’s fourth-inning uprising.

Starting pitcher Leif Christofferson (3-1), who had been ill throughout the week, held the Spartans scoreless for the first two innings, but had his defense fall apart behind him in the third.

With runners on first and second, Rio Mesa scored two runs when Burbank first baseman Steve Woody fielded a sacrifice bunt and attempted to throw to third base for the force out. The ball sailed into foul territory, and Mike Runge, who had bunted, reached third. Art Espinoza singled to drive in the third run of the inning.

Rio Mesa’s Phil Maquinalez pitched the first four innings, surrendering one hit and striking out six to get the win. The senior right-hander is 3-0.

Rio Mesa (7-1) advances to play Long Beach Poly at Stengel Field on Monday at 10 a.m. Burbank (3-4) plays Newbury Park at Glendale on Monday at 1 p.m.

Long Beach Poly 8, Newbury Park 0--The Panthers committed three errors and Long Beach Poly’s Greg Reid hit a two-run homer, all in the first inning, to spark the Jack Rabbits at Glendale.

Reid also had four singles and three RBIs.

Newbury Park pitcher Wally Thornhill walked seven batters in four innings. Thornhill had better success at the plate, going 2 for 3.

Jeff Campbell was 2 for 3, including a double, for the Panthers.

Eric Bryant and Ced Jenkins combined to shut out Newbury Park (4-3-1) on six hits.

Royal 9, Saugus 8--The Highlanders scored four runs off reliever Chris Joy in the top of the seventh to hand Saugus a tough loss at Hoover.

The Centurions held an 8-2 lead after four innings on the strength of back-to-back homers by Joy and Don Pedersen in the third, and a five-run outburst in the fourth. Saugus (4-4) batted nine men in the inning, aided by three walks, three singles and an error.

Pedersen’s two-out single drove in two runs and gave the Centurions the six-run cushion.

The Highlanders (3-5) scored a run in the fifth and two in the sixth. Sean Sullivan, Joe Summers and Jeff Corbin had singles in the inning, which climaxed when Saugus third baseman Mike Johnson mishandled Darren Euler’s ground ball, allowing the winning run to score.

Junior Dan Presta, Royal’s fourth pitcher of the game, pitched the last two innings for the win.