PREP BASEBALL ROUNDUP

In other Freeway League games:

Buena Park 21, La Habra 0--Timmy Jones hit for the cycle, going five for six, and drove in six runs for the Coyotes (11-9, 7-5), who moved into a three-way tie for second with Sunny Hills and Troy.

Sonora 4, Sunny Hills 0--Ryan Owens pitched a complete-game five-hitter and Adam Ferry had two hits and two RBIs for Sonora (10-12, 4-8).

In the South Coast League:

El Toro 4, Capistrano Valley 0--With four South Coast League teams fighting for the last two playoff berths, El Toro Coach Tom McCaffrey realizes that two pretty fair baseball teams will finish their season next week.

Thanks to Brandon Hendrikx’s four-hit shutout and Brian Saltarelli’s two-run homer, the host Chargers beat the Cougars and took a big step toward gaining one of those two playoff spots.

El Toro (15-8, 7-5) moved a game ahead of Capistrano Valley (14-8, 6-6), but remains tied for second with Dana Hills (12-10-1, 7-5), which upset league champion Mater Dei, 3-0, on Wednesday.

“We had to have this because they beat us the first time,” McCaffrey said.

The game took on added importance for the Chargers because their remaining schedule is the toughest of any South Coast League team. They play at Capistrano Valley on Friday and then play two against Mater Dei (16-5-1, 10-2) next week.

Hendrikx (7-2) assured the Chargers of at least one victory by winning his fifth consecutive decision and pitching his third shutout, tying a school record.

Except for shaky first and sixth innings, Hendrikx was nearly flawless. Capistrano Valley loaded the bases with two outs in the first on a walk, a single and a fielding error by El Toro shortstop Bryan Lefevers, but Hendrikx struck out designated hitter Ryan Rutledge.

The Chargers responded in the bottom of the inning by scoring three runs off Brandon Puffer, two on a home run by Saltarelli that barely cleared the left-field fence.

Puffer settled down and retired 14 consecutive batters from the first to the sixth, but it didn’t matter because Capistrano Valley couldn’t get Hendrikx out of his groove.

In fact, the only thing that did break Hendrikx’s momentum was his torn shoe, which caused him to stumble during his windup and almost balk. With runners on first and second in the sixth inning, Hendrikx’s foot caught in the ground, but he threw the ball anyway and hit Dominick Lombardi with the pitch on a bounce. Despite a long argument by Capistrano Valley Coach Bob Zamora, the home plate umpire ruled that Lombardi did not attempt to elude the pitch.

Lombardi hit the next pitch to Lefevers, who turned a double play to end the inning.