PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Orange Lutheran Rallies but Falls to Whittier Christian

A look of disbelief came over Coach Steve Randall’s face as he watched his Whittier Christian baseball team blow a five-run lead Tuesday afternoon in La Habra.

But disbelief turned to joy when designated hitter Jeff Mao singled with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Heralds a 7-6 victory over Orange Lutheran in an Olympic League game.

Whittier Christian (9-9, 5-3 in league) scored five runs in the first inning off Jeff Courvoisier (5-4). The big hits were a triple by Matt Alcala and an RBI double by Mac Meyers.

The Lancers (12-7, 5-2) battled back in the second inning when Eric Glessner squeezed home catcher Jeff Reiland to make it 5-1. Courvoisier’s seventh home run in the fourth made it 5-2.

Courvoisier led off the sixth with a double and scored on a wild pitch by Ila Borders, who then gave up singles to Dave Willett and Chris Campbell. Brad Ward tied the score with a two-run single.

Willett’s RBI double off Meyers (1-0), who relieved Borders, in the seventh put the Lancers ahead, 6-5.

After his rocky first inning, Courvoisier retired 15 in a row until the seventh, when Bill Tsiamanes opened with a single to right. Jason Shirk reached first on a fielder’s choice and took second on Reiland’s errant pickoff throw. Tracy Hoffman was intentionally walked, and Joe Rivera walked on four pitches to load the bases.

Alcala swung at a third-strike pitch, but the ball kicked off Reiland mitt and went to the backstop, allowing Shirk to tie the score, Alcala to reach first, and setting the stage for Mao.

“With two strikes there was a lot of pressure,” Mao said. “But the next pitch was right there and I just turned on it.”