SOUTH COAST LEAGUE BASEBALL ROUNDUP : A Down Year? Not for Capistrano Valley

As rebuilding years go, this one hasn’t been too bad for Capistrano Valley baseball Coach Bob Zamora.

The Cougars, the defending Southern Section 4-A champions, were expected to be also-rans this season, even by their own coach. Instead, they are in complete control of the South Coast League after an 11-7 victory over El Toro Friday at Capistrano Valley.

“People have been telling me I was sandbagging at the start of the season,” Zamora said. “Maybe I was and didn’t know it. I certainly wasn’t expecting this.”

Who could? After all, the Cougars (15-3, 8-1) returned only two starters, pitcher/outfielder Scott Patton and third baseman Tim Lyons.

But they have received solid play from a core of players who were on the junior varsity a year ago.

“There were good JV players, but JV baseball is so different from the varsity level,” Zamora said. “There were a lot of questions.”

So far, the answers have been the right ones.

Such as designated hitter Ethan Wyckoff, who didn’t play at all last season because of an arm injury. He had three hits and two runs batted in Friday and is hitting nearly .400.

Or Lyons, who was moved to shortstop this season. He preserved a one-run lead with a diving stop on a ground ball in the sixth inning and had a single, an RBI and scored two runs.

“That’s what I mean,” Zamora said. “We used a designated hitter for Tim last season because he wasn’t hitting. This year, he’s doing great.”

And then there’s Patton, who pitched 1 1/3 innings for a save and had two doubles Friday. He gave the Cougars some breathing room in the fourth inning.

Capistrano Valley had the bases loaded and led, 4-3, when he hit a line drive to center field. Jason Bailey appeared to make a diving catch, but the ball came loose when he hit the ground.

Two runs scored on the hit, and two more came in when shortstop Pat Antrim made a throwing error on the relay.

El Toro (7-10, 4-5), which has lost eight of its past 11 games, pulled to within 8-7 with four runs in the sixth. Jason Santoro, who was three for three with three RBIs, had a two-run single.

But with runners on second and third, Lyons saved the Cougars. Chris Wiggins hit a hard grounder that appeared to be headed into left. But Lyons dived and smothered the ball.

The infield single scored Bailey but left Santoro on third. He was stranded when Chris Adams flew out.

“Things have been going right for us this season,” Zamora said.

In another South Coast League game:

Irvine 9, Dana Hills 0--Ryan O’Toole (7-3) pitched a five-hitter, and Chris Grienke had two hits and scored two runs and Matt Rogers had two hits for host Irvine (13-7, 6-3). Dana Hills is 5-4 in league.