HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : Fountain Valley Holds Tight for Title

Fountain Valley High catcher Dan Hoppie ran in circles, still clutching the ball.

A moment earlier, he had been bulled over by Lakewood’s Matt Demspey, who was trying to score from second on a two-out, seventh-inning single. Hoppie held on and so did the Barons.

Fountain Valley came away with a 3-2 victory to win the Southern Section Division I championship before 3,400 at Blair Field in Long Beach. The Barons are the first top-seeded team to win this division title since Lakewood in 1970.

Lakewood (24-7), the second-seeded team, had runners on first and second when Art Martinez lined a 1-2 pitch into center field. Dempsey hit third as Matt Roman fielded the ball on one hop.

The throw was up the third-base line, and Dempsey arrived at the same moment.

Said Hoppie: “I knew the guy was going to try to get a piece of me. I just had to hang on.”

The Barons (27-3-1) scratched for everything they got. Lakewood pitcher Luke Fitzpatrick (11-2) gave up only four hits against a team that had scored 38 runs in its first four playoff games.

Two Baron runs came without the benefit of hits. In the fourth, Geoff Wilson walked and later scored on a wild pitch. In the sixth, Wilson reached base on an error and later scored the game winner on a double-steal, as Hoppie got into a rundown.

“In high school baseball, you can’t always wait for the base hit,” Fountain Valley Coach Ron LaRuffa said.

The Lancers had runners on base in every inning, but stranded 12.

Fountain Valley starter Luke Hudson wobbled through three innings, giving up only a run-scoring single by Dempsey in the third. Jason Liuzzi (8-0) relieved in the fourth and went 3 2/3 innings, giving up only an unearned run.