Rancho Santiago, Cypress in the Final : Baseball: Chargers win twice to set up first all-Orange County final in tournament history.
Cypress, facing vacation with its next loss, got a pair of outstanding pitching performances Sunday to remain alive in the State tournament.
Matt Hendren pitched a six-hitter as Cypress beat Lassen, 4-2, in the afternoon game at Cerritos. Josh Belovsky had 14 strikeouts in a complete game as the Chargers eliminated Chabot, 9-4, earlier Sunday at Long Beach.
Cypress takes on Rancho Santiago at 11 a.m. today in the first all-Orange County final of the State tournament since it started in 1950.
The Chargers (41-11) must sweep two from the Dons to win the championship. Rancho Santiago won the title last season; Cypress did the same in 1991.
Cypress, the Orange Empire Conference champion, beat third-place Rancho Santiago three of four times this season. But two of the victories, both shutouts, were by Belovsky. The other victory was by Rob Crabtree.
Crabtree was among the possible starters Cypress Coach Scott Pickler listed for today. Crabtree (3-2) had arm trouble in late March and missed almost six weeks. He returned last weekend to pitch one inning.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Cypress Coach Scott Pickler. “But at least we got there. Your goal is always to be playing on the last day of the season.”
Hendren (11-2) turned in his best performance of the season against Lassen. Hendren, a sophomore left-hander, had 10 strikeouts was only in trouble once, in the ninth. He allowed a lead-off home run to Chris Webb (his 11th) and a double to Tim Howard.
But he then settled down to get the next three hitters.
The Chargers led, 2-1, and had the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth. Cypress got a two gift runs when Lassen pitcher John Bradley bounced a pick-off throw past first-baseman Webb.
Mark Selway had an RBI single in the second and Jason Hodges added an RBI single in the fifth for the Chargers’ other runs.
In another tournament game:
Cypress 9, Chabot 4--Belovsky (11-1), a sophomore right-hander, pitched a nine-hitter with 14 strikeouts for Cypress. He was helped by what Pickler called the best catch he has ever seen.
Cypress led, 6-3, in the top of the seventh when Chabot had two on and two outs. Chabot’s Tim Morrow hit a deep drive to center. Eric Stevens made a stunning over-the shoulder catch in full stride then slammed into the center-field fence.
Stevens, down for a few seconds, quickly showed the ball.
Israel Gonzalez had a double, his single-season record tying 29th for Cypress.