PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Fountain Valley Tunes Up for Title Showdown

Pitcher Jason Liuzzi went along for the ride last season.

The Fountain Valley baseball team won the Sunset League championship and Liuzzi was there for every minute--clapping, cheering and doing all those things a guy on the bench is suppose to do. His on-the-field contribution was a grand total of 1 1/3 innings on the mound.

Liuzzi, a senior left-hander, has played a more significant role this season.

His 5-0 victory over Servite on Wednesday in Anaheim moved the Barons closer to another championship. It at least got them closer to a showdown for the title.

The Barons (19-2, 7-2), ranked No. 1 in Orange County, started the day tied for first with Huntington Beach. The two teams play Tuesday.

“We still could finish third, but I think this made it a two-team race for the title,” said Ron LaRuffa, the Barons’ always cautious coach.

A two-team race is a remarkable thing, considering that two weeks ago six teams were within 1 1/2 games of each other. But pitching has made the Barons rise above the crowd.

And Liuzzi (4-0) is a big reason the pitching has been there.

He picked up his third league victory Wednesday. He went five innings, allowing only two hits and striking out six. He also retired the last nine batters he faced.

Servite (11-8-1, 5-4) got a runner to second with one out in the second inning, but Liuzzi struck out the next two batters. It was the closest the Friars cane to getting a run.

Not a bad performance for a guy who figured to do a lot of sitting and clapping again this season.

Liuzzi started the year on the shelf, waiting for his chance. It came in the Coachella Valley Tournament during spring break.

He pitched five shutout innings against Coachella Valley. That performance earned him another chance, which he parlayed into a spot in the starting rotation.

Liuzzi has given up only two runs in a little more than 20 innings.

“He just kept pitching so well that we had to keep using him,” LaRuffa said.

The move also allowed Chris Ponchak to go the bullpen, where he has become a stopper. Ponchak went the final two innings Wednesday for his fourth save.

Fountain Valley needed the strong outing from its pitchers, as the Baron offense took most of the day off.

Luke Fox hit the first pitch over the 356-sign in right field to give the Barons a 1-0 lead. They then spent much of the day flailing at Brian Greene’s pitching.

Greene (3-1) gave up only four hits. At one point, he retired 10 of 11 batters. The one walk he gave up during that stretch was erased when Jeff Hoppie was thrown out attempting to steal.

“Boy, we hit that first pitch out and I’m thinking it’s going to be a 15-run day,” LaRuffa said. “Then Greene starts mowing us down.”

Greene made only one other mistake. In the seventh, he got a pitch up to Kevin Burford, who hit it over the 306-foot sign in center field. The only other runs off Greene were unearned.