SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – It’s not often that one player dominates a baseball game.
San Clemente junior Mike Erspramer did so Wednesday.
He pitched six scoreless innings and hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning in the Tritons’ 4-2 win over San Juan Hills in a Sea View League game at San Juan Hills High.
The result tightened the league standings. San Juan Hills remains alone in first place at 4-1 in the four-team league. San Clemente is in second at 3-2, followed by Aliso Niguel (2-3) and El Toro (1-4).
The Tritons (8-8 overall) ended an 11-game win streak for San Juan Hills (13-2), whose other loss was to Foothill 1-0.
Of San Clemente’s eight losses, two were in extra innings.
Tritons coach Dave Gellatly said Wednesday’s game was typical San Clemente-San Juan Hills baseball.
“We’ve been battling these guys for years,” he said. “It seems like every game’s like this.”
The Tritons had a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, the final regulation inning in high school baseball.
The Stallions started a rally with Colbie Carpuz’s single and Sorrell Rubin’s walk. That was the final batter faced by Espramer, who moved to first base and was replaced on the mound.
San Juan Hills’ Tanner Keller, a left-handed batter, dumped a blooper into left field to load the bases with one out. Ethan Meeker followed with a line-drive single to left field to drive in Carpuz and Rubin to tie the game 2-2.
Zach Doyle then walked to load the bases. The Stallions’ David Reeves hit a sharp ground ball to San Clemente shortstop Cade Cerone, who threw to catcher Kaden Raymond for the force out at home plate.
Cerone then threw to first base in an attempt at an inning-ending double play. Cerone’s throw was wide and went into right field and the winning run appeared to score.
But the home plate umpire ruled that Reeves ran inside the first-base line, which is illegal in that situation with the catcher trying to throw to first base. Reeves was ruled out for the inning’s third out. That left the game tied 2-2 and sent the game into extra innings.
After the eighth and ninth innings were scoreless San Clemente’s Kai Cesare led off the top of the 10th with a single. Erspramer, who bats and throws left-handed, was up next and he pulled a slider over the right-field fence for a 4-2 lead.
San Clemente junior right-hander Jonathan Wagner, who replaced Erspramer on the mound in the seventh inning, shut out San Juan Hills in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings to get the win.
Erspramer, who committed to Stanford, allowed five hits and three walks and struck out two over six innings.
“Our team did a great job today of working behind me in the field,” Erspramer said. “I wouldn’t have been able to have done it without all those plays. And I just got in the right situation there at the end.”
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