Mesa has rocky start
COSTA MESA — It was chilly throughout the Costa Mesa High baseball team’s season opener Thursday afternoon.
But the Mustangs displayed a mix of temperatures on their diamond. They ran hot and cold. Some showed first-game jitters, but first-year coach Jason Smith saw plenty to build on during a 14-8 loss to Rancho Alamitos.
Smith believes his Mustangs can improve. He knows improvement will be needed on defense as Costa Mesa committed seven errors during its OC Division pool-play game of the Newport Elks Tournament.
But Smith enjoyed his team’s effort. He also thought the Mustangs never quit. They trailed 5-1 through three innings, but scored four runs in the fourth. However Rancho Alamitos used a seven-run fifth inning to regain the advantage.
“We did not quit,” said Smith, who coached at La Quinta in Westminster last year. “That’s the biggest thing you take away from this. They battled. Even when they were down they battled back in the game. The attitude was great. The competitiveness was great. But we just lack the execution on defense. This is definitely a positive to start the season and it’s something we can hopefully build on.”
Smith saw bright spots during his team’s four-run fourth inning, when Costa Mesa scored all its runs with two outs. Sophomore Justin Fisher, who singled, scored, as did seniors Marcus Hayes, Nate Alvis, Kory Bennion and Trace Curet. Bennion drove in two runs with a single to right centerfield and Curet brought in a run with a bloop single to center.
The inning was a sign that there could be good things to come for the Mustangs. And, it also showed Costa Mesa is doing its best to move past a quirky offseason.
Jim Kiefer, who watched Thursday’s game, stepped down as coach after six seasons to become the school’s boys’ athletic director. For a short time, then-assistant Nate Goellrich was in charge of the summer program. But Goellrich went to Estancia to become the head coach of the Eagles, making the transition to a new Mustangs coach a bit more challenging.
“Of course we are going to miss Nate, but we can’t dwell on it,” said Curet, who went two for four with a single and a double and two runs batted in. He also made a couple great catches in left field. “We have a new coach. He knows just as much baseball as Nate does. A coach is a coach, to be honest. I feel comfortable with him this season. I think he can lead us in the right direction.”
Bennion, who went two for five with two RBIs, expressed that the Mustangs are “all in” with their new coach.
“Early on it was kind of weird and kind of funky,” said Bennion, who left shortly after the game because he has the lead role in the school’s drama, “Urinetown.” “But we love the coach and we love his philosophy.”
Smith said the team did not talk about Goellrich leaving Costa Mesa to coach at Estancia.
“We are looking at the right here and now,” Smith said. “There’s no reason to address that. We addressed that change is always a difficult thing and something to get used to. We never really sat and talked about it. We just came in and said, ‘hey this is what we are trying to do and we’re moving forward.’ We’re not going to worry about what happened and what didn’t happen or whatever the past was.”
Twitter: @SteveVirgen
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Newport Elks Tournament
OC Division
Pool play
Rancho Alamitos 14, Costa Mesa 8
SCORE BY INNING
Rancho 320 070 2 – 14 16 3
CMHS 010 403 0 – 8 8 7
Roll, Crawford (6) and Alvarado; Benter, Raus (5), Fisher (6) and Hayes. W – Roll. L – Benter. 2B – Alvarado (RA) 3, Faletoi (RA); Curet (CM).