Vigilantes’ Road Troubles Follow Them Home

MISSION VIEJO — The Vigilantes brought the struggles of their recent trip home for all to see Tuesday at Saddleback College.

Mission Viejo, which had lost the last three games on the road, extended the losing streak to four as Reno rolled to a 10-2 victory in a Western Baseball League game before an announced crowd of 1,708.

The Vigilantes (11-15) wasted leads of eight and six runs in losing the final two games of a trip and couldn’t shake it off Tuesday.

A first-inning fielding error by second baseman Willie Mosher led to four unearned runs and it was never close after that. Mission Viejo made two more errors to increase its season total to 80.

Reno (18-8) added a run in the second and two in the fourth to move ahead, 7-0. Two more runs came in the eighth on a two-run homer by catcher Paul Ellis, who is tied for Chukars lead with 16. The final run came in the ninth.

Reno starter Brian Doughty, a right-hander with a sharp slider, had nine strikeouts and allowed 10 hits in pitching his third complete game of the season. Doughty (11-1) walked two and was ahead in the count most of the time.

“That guy had too good a breaking ball,” Vigilante Manager Buck Rodgers said. “We just couldn’t lay off of it. That wasn’t a good way to start [this home stand].”

Mission Viejo starter John Homan (2-2) got the first two batters of the game but gave up a single up the middle to Todd Takayoshi, the league’s leading hitter.

Bret Jenkins walked, then Ellis hit a bouncer that sent Mosher well to his right. Mosher got to the ball but it went off his glove for an error and Takayoshi scored to make it 1-0.

David Francisco doubled to drive in the second run and John Roberts followed with a two-run double off the top of the fence in left center to make it 4-0.

“It hurt,” Rodgers said of the first inning. “That was demoralizing, certainly.”

Takayoshi had three singles in five at-bats to raise his average to .425. Jason Brissey, who played at Golden West and Southern California College, had a double and a single and scored two runs for Reno, which has won seven in a row.

Mission Viejo’s first run came in the seventh when Sam Taylor hit a homer down the right field line. It was the team-leading 19th homer of the season for Taylor, who had played the last two years in Salinas.

Mike Moutrey had a run-scoring single in the ninth for the Vigilantes.

Notes

Vigilante left fielder Alan Burke needs two runs batted in to set the team’s single-season record. Burke has driven in 68 runs this year, leaving him one behind Tim Moore, who had 69 when the team was based in Long Beach last season. Burke was hitless in four trips Tuesday. . . . Mike Smith, who has been the league’s pitcher of the week two of the last three weeks, starts tonight. Smith is 8-4.