Southern Section Baseball Playoffs : Experience Pays Off for Capistrano Valley in 7-1 Win

Capistrano Valley High School’s playoff experience, magnified by Duarte’s lack of it, helped the Cougars to a 7-1 first-round victory Thursday in Southern Section 2-A baseball playoffs at Capistrano Valley.

Capistrano Valley, the 2-A’s second-seeded team, has eight players who started in playoff games last season. Duarte was making the first playoff appearance in school history.

Capistrano Valley (22-3), the South Coast League champion, needed only four hits. Duarte (10-11) helped the Cougars with four errors, three walks, two hit batters and several mental mistakes.

“That was not even close to how our team should play,” said Gary Jensen, Duarte coach. “That’s why it is so disappointing. We didn’t play to our potential at all.”

Duarte, which managed only three hits, can blame its offensive problems on Capistrano Valley pitcher Brett Snyder, who survived a rocky start. Snyder (10-1) allowed a first-inning home run to Eric Dorsey and a bloop single to Garet Gruber but then didn’t give up a hit for 4 innings.

Snyder, the league’s co-most valuable player with teammate Tommy Adams, was lifted after five innings with a 7-1 lead. Jim Kemper finished up.

After Dorsey’s homer, Capistrano Valley tied the score, 1-1, on Mike Pierce’s two-out RBI single in the second. The Cougars scored three in the third and three more in the fourth.

Three walks--two intentional--and a hit batter helped Capistrano Valley in the third. Bill Bartens drew a bases-loaded walk with two out, then Charles Lockard drove in two runs with a single on a 3-2 pitch.

In the fourth, Chris Ashbach’s sacrifice fly and Brian Walker’s double each drove in a run for Capistrano Valley. An error by shortstop Randy Mora gave the Cougars their final run.

“I’m disappointed in our hitting, but I’m glad we won,” said Bob Zamora, who has coached Capistrano Valley to the playoffs nine of his 10 years. “That’s the bottom line in the playoffs.”