Orange Lutheran Might Strong-Arm Opponents

In the Southern Section baseball playoffs, teams with pitching depth have the advantage and Orange Lutheran is well stocked with arms entering its Division 1-A wild-card game Friday.

“Pitchers?” Orange Lutheran Coach John Malmquist asked. “Yeah, we make pitchers over here. I’ve got kids who can throw the ball.”

The state rule limiting each pitcher to 10 innings a week works to the advantage of teams such as Orange Lutheran. Although the Lancers lack a dominanting ace such as Kent Dowding, who graduated last year and now pitches at Rancho Santiago College, they have five effective right-handed pitchers--three juniors and two sophomores.

Junior Matt Hendren, who is 7-4 with a 2.80 earned-run average and 73 strikeouts in 67 innings, will be the starter against Western Christian (13-7) in the wild-card game Friday in Covina. Juniors Jason Fox and Mason Effertz and sophomores Jeff Couvoisier and James Maddock round out the Lancers’ staff.

Orange Lutheran, which has qualified for the playoffs in each of Malmquist’s 10 seasons as coach, is fortunate to still be playing. If not for Valley Christian’s 8-7, eight-inning victory over Whittier Christian, Saturday, the Lancers’ season would be over and Whittier Christian would be the third-place representative from the Olympic League.

“If you can get out of our league and get into the playoffs, you stand a chance to do something,” Malmquist said. “Our league is awfully tough.”

After three seasons in 2-A, the Olympic League has been moved back to 1-A. Malmquist said he believes Olympic League champion Valley Christian of Cerritos should be considered the division’s favorite despite the fact that it is seeded second behind Montclair Prep.

Orange Lutheran defeated Western Christian, 3-1, this season on a one-hitter by Hendren. If the Lancers win Friday, they will play Tuesday at Beaumont (14-10-1), the second-place team from the De Anza League.

In the Small Schools Division, Cal Lutheran (8-3), a boarding school in Huntington Beach, is the only county school to avoid a wild-card game. The C-Hawks tied St. Margaret’s for the Academy League title but won a coin flip and were spared from playing a wild-card game.

1-A PREVIEW

Defending champion--Montclair Prep.

Top teams--Montclair Prep (17-3), Valley Christian (18-1), San Jacinto (17-3), Tehachapi (15-3).

Dark horses: Whitney (16-5), Orange Lutheran (15-8).

Key players: Valley Christian’s Kyle Dykstra (pitcher) is 11-0 with a 1.97 earned-run average and 89 strikeouts in 64 innings; Orange Lutheran’s Phil Matheson (center fielder) is batting .400 with 29 runs batted in; Valley Christian’s Brooks Morris (first baseman) is batting .478 with five home runs; Montclair Prep’s Russell Ortiz (pitcher) is 9-1, 1.46 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 55 innings and is batting .504; Tehachapi’s Fletcher Austin (first baseman/pitcher) is batting .467 and has a 6-1 record with a 0.71 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 49 innings; Tehachapi’s Jeff Bankard (pitcher) is batting .426 and has 6-1 record with a 1.84 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 46 innings; San Jacinto’s B.J. Kling (shortstop/pitcher) is batting .505.

Noteworthy: Olympic League returns to Division 1-A after three seasons in 2-A. In 1987, the league’s most recent in 1-A, Whittier Christian won the title.