Baseball Roundup : Irvine Clinches South Coast League Championship

John Bretza (7-4) pitched a six-hitter and Scott Volmer drove in two runs as Irvine High School clinched the South Coast League baseball championship with a 4-1 victory over San Clemente Thursday at San Clemente.

Irvine (17-8 overall, 10-5 in league play) finishes two games ahead of Dana Hills and El Toro. Dana Hills advances to the Southern Section 3-A playoffs as the league’s No. 2 team because it defeated El Toro twice this season.

San Clemente is 9-15, 5-10.

In other South Coast League games:

Dana Hills 8, El Toro 5--Denny Papp drove in three runs and Lance Marks two as Dana Hills (14-12, 8-7) rallied from a 5-0 deficit at El Toro. Dana Hills tied the score with five runs in the fourth, two of which came on a home run by Marks. The Dolphins took the lead with a three-run fifth. Papp’s two-run double broke the tie. El Toro is 13-13 and 8-7.

Capistrano Valley 15, Mission Viejo 7--Buster Nietzke went 4 for 4 with 7 RBIs and 2 home runs to lead the Cougars (11-14, 7-8) at home. Brian Walker went 3 for 4 with a two-run home run and David Rawson had 3 RBIs for Capistrano Valley. Mission Viejo is 16-8, 7-8.

In the Empire League:

El Dorado 10, Esperanza 8--Eddie Keller and Chris Facione each had 2 hits and 2 RBIs for El Dorado (22-3, 13-2) at Esperanza. Doug Saunders had two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in five runs for Esperanza (16-8, 10-5).

In the Garden Grove League:

La Quinta 7, Rancho Alamitos 6--Mark Dion scored the winning run on an error in the sixth inning at Rancho Alamitos. La Quinta is 23-4, 14-0. Roddy McCall had 2 home runs and 3 RBIs, and Mike Willey was 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs for Rancho Alamitos (14-12, 8-6).

Bolsa Grande 10, Kennedy 6--Andy Miramontes had 3 hits and 2 RBIs for host Bolsa Grande (8-16, 5-9). Ernie Franco had 2 hits and 2 RBIs for Kennedy (14-13, 9-6).

In the Sea View League:

Corona del Mar 9, Saddleback 6--Kevin Maas drove in three runs and Chad Thompson had a two-run homer as host Corona del Mar (8-12, 6-9) upset first-place Saddleback. Neil Carter hit a two-run homer for Saddleback (19-6, 13-2).

Estancia 7, University 5--Tony Mendoza drove in two runs to lead Estancia (16-9, 9-6) at University. Greg Brannis (2-2) struck out 3 in 2 innings of relief for the victory. Jason Butler had 2 hits and 4 RBIs for University (10-16, 6-9).

In the Pacific Coast League:

Woodbridge 3, Trabuco Hills 2--Jim Burke (3-3) threw a 1-hitter, giving up two unearned runs, for host Woodbridge (9-14, 7-8). Trabuco Hills is 13-9, 8-7.