Mira Costa Stems Frustration with 12-3 Victory Over Temecula Valley

For the Mira Costa Mustangs, the difference has been that key base hit. Through 10 games they had pitched it well and caught it well enough, but at the plate they had been left wanting when willing to take anything—a line drive, a blooper over the infield or a little bleeder bounced through it.

On Tuesday, though, the Mustangs crushed a month of frustration in a 12-3 victory over Temecula Valley in the Classic Division of the Lions Tournament.

Mira Costa (4-7) broke the game open with a five-run first inning, the big blows coming in the clutch situations that far more often than not had them stymied to this point in the season. After loading the bases with two outs, senior center fielder Jackson Morrow laced a triple to right field and that was followed by a two-run triple to center by junior left-fielder Brett Collins.

''We talked about it last night, about relaxing,'' said Morrow, who went 3 for 4. ''This isn't football, this is a mental game and you just have to calm down and take it like it's any other game."

''You can't make it more than it is, you know?" he continued. "Like any situation, you have to take it at-bat by at-bat and just think of it as any at-bat and know that you're better than the guy throwing at you. We have a lot of talent—any guy can do it—we just have to have the right attitude.''

Morrow made the most of that approach, his liner just eluding the grasp of right fielder Devin Carter. When it did, there was a deep breath. ''Best feeling in the world,'' Morrow said, ''especially after that split second when you think that he is going to get to it … your heart stops for a second.''

From there, the Mustangs were able to turn the game over to senior right-hander Lucas Whitehill, who worked his way through a spot of trouble in the first inning and went on to strike out 10 batters in a complete game victory. That did not, however, preclude them from continuing to take their shots at Golden Bears' starter Daniel Cota and reliever David Guajardo.

Mira Costa added one run in the second inning and two more in the third, including a RBI single by junior third baseman Garrett Fedor. Up 8-1, the Mustangs put up three more in the fourth, getting another big hit from Collins, who went 3 for 3 with a sacrifice fly and drove in five runs. The junior came up with the bases loaded and one out and rifled a two-run double to right field.

''I was just trying to hit the ball hard anywhere. I was looking for a fastball and trying to put the ball in play,'' Coillins said, of that first at-bat. ''Something good will happen if you just out the ball in play. I was just looking fastball and sure enough, it came to me.''  

With Morrow and Collins at the lead, the quality of at-bats produced with runners in scoring position was much better than they had been, Coach Cassidy Olson said.

One day earlier, in a 3-0 loss to Torrey Pines, Mira Costa had failed to push a run across the plate when they had run-scoring opportunities in the sixth and seventh innings.

''That's been the big thing all year, we haven't had guys getting the big hits at the right time,'' Olson said. ''I mean, the team batting average isn't that bad, it's just that they want it so badly they're pressing to get out of this funk that we're in … everyone tries to do too much. It was nice to have Morrow and a couple of other guys come through with the bases loaded.

''You tell them all the time, the harder you try in this game the worse you do. But they put it together today, so that was good.''