Baseball: Trick play doesn’t fool Orange Lutheran’s Smith

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You have to wake up very early in the morning to fool Orange Lutheran senior Tyler Smith.

Riverside North tried to trick Smith in the fourth inning after the second baseman led off with a double, but it didn’t work. North pitcher Carson Trippany faked a pick-off throw to second, the shortstop dove to his left and the center fielder ran toward the gap and everything. But Smith didn’t move. It’s a good thing because he scored the Lancers’ second run of the game on the next pitch.

Lutheran has a 2-0 lead after four innings at Hart Park in a Southern Section-Toyota Division I baseball playoff game. The Lancers have left the bases loaded in each of the last two innings.

Lutheran’s inability to score more, however, has not been a factor because Gerrit Cole has allowed only three balls to leave the infield. Cole has given up only one hit and struck out five.

-- Jaime Cardenas