Baseball: Norco’s Hobgood hits his eighth home run

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Matt Hobgood of Norco is expected to be a first-round draft pick because of his pitching skills, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hit. He smashed his eighth home run of the season on Monday, a two-run shot, but Norco was beaten by Scottsdale (Ariz.) Notre Dame Prep, 9-8, in a first-round game of the Anderson Bat National Classic at Esperanza.

Notre Dame Prep improved to 17-0 by coming back from deficits of 3-1 and 8-6. The Saints won it in the top of the seventh on an RBI single from Taylor Scott.

Norco’s defeat ruins what could have been a great pitching matchup on Tuesday, Hobgood vs. Aaron Northcraft of Santa Ana Mater Dei. Now Northcraft will face Notre Dame Prep in a 1 p.m. quarterfinal game at Esperanza.

-- Eric Sondheimer