Prep Baseball Playoffs : Southern Section 1-A : Cummings’ Three-Hitter, Home Run by Lee Lead Orange Lutheran Win

The hitting of Derek Lee and pitching of John Cummings led Orange Lutheran High School to a 2-0 win over Blair Friday in a Southern Section 1-A quarterfinal game at South Pasadena High School.

Lee, a junior, hit a two-run home run well beyond the left-field fence in the second inning to give freshman Cummings all the offense he needed. The left-hander allowed three hits and struck out five to improve his record to 8-2.

Orange Lutheran (16-9), the No. 2 representative from the Olympic League, was threatened only twice by Blair (11-13), the No. 2 team from the Rio Hondo League.

In the third inning, the Vikings had runners at second and third with one out, but Cummings struck out Kenny Crocim and Oscar Bradley. Then, in the sixth inning, again with runners at second and third and one out, Cummings got Hassan Carroll to pop out and Erick McWhorter to fly out to center.

Orange Lutheran’s Alex Lahrer was the only player in the game to have two hits. Lahrer’s first single was in the second, and he later scored on Lee’s home run.