Prep Baseball : Valencia Comes Back Strong to Beat Magnolia : The Tigers Gain Third Straight Victory to Challenge for Orange League Title

Only 11 days ago, Valencia High School appeared to going nowhere after dropping a doubleheader to Edison in which the Tigers were outscored, 17-8.

The Tigers were reeling with a 6-5 record following the losses and the prospects of a winning season weren’t promising.

But a rejuvenated Valencia team continued its road to recovery with a 3-2 victory over Magnolia on a blustery Wednesday afternoon at Placentia for its third straight win and remained in contention for the Orange League championship.

Tiger first baseman Tim Churchill hit a two-run double in the fifth inning that erased a 2-1 deficit and helped improved the Tigers win by one. Valencia is 5-3 in the six-team league and 10-5 overall. Valencia and Brea-Olinda are tied for second place, one game behind first-place Western (6-2).

Junior right-hander Jeff Martinez gained his first victory of the season by working his way out of three jams in the early innings and then retiring the last seven Magnolia hitters. The Sentinels (4-4, 6-7) didn’t help their cause with two runners picked off second base.

“We have all the physical ability in the world, but between the ears my players are ridiculous,” said Don Popovich, the Sentinels’ coach. “We’re still in the hunt for the league title, but if we keep playing like we did today, there’s no chance.”

Popovich watched his team take a 2-0 lead after scoring once in the third and fourth innnings. Leadoff hitter Manuel Rodriguez opened the third with a single, stole second and scored on John Hangartner’s double to right.

But the Sentinels’ poor baserunning ended the threat as Hangartner was picked off second. The pattern continued in the fourth inning when Carl Holmes was picked off second after Magnolia had gained a 2-0 lead on Carlos Gonzales’ triple to center.

“It’s amazing how many high school games are decided by poor base running,” said Kevin McConnell, the Valencia coach. “I’d bet four or five of our games every year are decided that way.”

The Tigers overcame Magnolia’s two-run lead, taking advantage of a wild pitch to move Churchill into scoring position for a run in the fourth inning and then Churchill hit his seventh double of the season in the fifth for the winning runs.

“Tim told me before the game that he was going to hit a double today to tie the county leaders,” McConnell said. “This was a payback for us. We had an 8-4 lead against Magnolia the last time we played and lost, 9-8, by walking 11 batters. Hopefully, these games are behind us.”

Brea-Olinda 7, Savanna 6--The Rebels scored four runs in the first inning, but Brea-Olinda rallied to remain tied with Valencia for second place. The Wildcats scored three runs in the sixth inning with Scott Shirey singling in two runs and Scott Luke doubling in another.

Western 4, Anaheim 1--Senior third baseman John Tellers was 2 for 4 and scored two runs for the Pioneers who maintained their one-game league lead with the win over the winless Colonists. Western took the lead with a run in the first before Anaheim scored its only run the third to tie the score, 1-1.