Baseball: Matzek proves too much for Riverside Poly

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It’s tough to beat Capistrano Valley when left-hander Tyler Matzek is on the mound. Matzek (12-1) ran his scoreless streak to 17 innings in playoff action Tuesday, throwing a two-hitter to help the Cougars defeat Riverside Poly, 1-0, in a Southern Section Division I semifinal.

Matzek also drove in the game’s only run with a first-inning run-scoring single. Poly junior left-hander Dylan Stuart came close to matching Matzek, allowing two hits while striking out six and walking two.

Poly threatened Matzek in the seventh when freshman R.J. Ybarra led off with a double. But pinch runner Andrew Gomez tried to move to third on a grounder to first base and was thrown out. After Matzek walked the next batter, putting the potential winning run on base, he struck out Dylan Barnes and catcher Nolan Clark picked off the runner on first.

-- Eric Sondheimer