Hart’s Torres coming out of batting slump at expense of Valencia

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Last summer, third baseman Jenzen Torres of Newhall Hart had a baseball game of a lifetime, hitting four home runs and going five for five with 11 runs batted in against Valencia. It raised expectations for his senior year.

So far this season, however, he has stumbled badly, hitting only .260. But there were signs this week of a positive change, and they came against his favorite opponent, Valencia. On Friday, he hit a two-run home run in the second inning to ignite the Indians to a 13-3 victory in a game for first place in the Foothill League.

“The home run was huge because it got us on the scoreboard,” Coach Jim Ozella said.

Valencia (13-6, 7-2) had all the momentum after scoring two runs in the first inning off right-hander Trevor Bauer (7-0), who had allowed only one earned run in 34 1/3 innings coming in.

Torres, dropped to No. 8 in the order, sent a Robbie Mousselli pitch flying over the center-field fence at Hart.

“I’ve been trying too much,” said Torres, who has signed with Cal Poly Pomona. “I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself.”

Bryan Lucas added another home run for Hart (14-5, 8-1), which broke open a 3-3 game with eight runs in the fourth inning when it sent 13 batters to the plate and took advantage of four errors, three by freshman shortstop Christian Lopes.

Hart defeated Valencia, 1-0, on Wednesday when Bauer was called out of the bullpen in the seventh inning to pick up the save.

Ozella was thrilled that the hitters finally helped out Hart’s pitching staff on Friday. Trevor Brown had three hits and Devin Rodriguez contributed a two-run double.

“Our pitchers have been bailing us out all year, and today we stepped up as hitters and took care of business,” Ozella said. “I think we did a great job not panicking.”

Hart’s fielders played their second consecutive game against Valencia without committing an error. The Vikings made five errors.

It was a difficult day for Lopes, an otherwise terrific first-year player who hit a home run off Bauer but struggled in the field with four errors. “He’ll be real good down the road,” Ozella said.

As for Torres, he’s an important figure if Hart is going to emerge as a league champion and become a contender for the Southern Section Division I title. He possesses the kind of power and offensive punch needed for the Indians to excel.

“He has been inconsistent, and inconsistency has led to a confidence issue,” Ozella said. “He got a hit Wednesday and a big one today.”

The home run, according to Torres, “showed me I don’t need to do that every at-bat.”

And with Torres back contributing, Hart is the team to beat in the Foothill League.

-- Eric Sondheimer

-- Image from vortex.accuweather.com