PREP ROUNDUP : Mohr Survives in Baseball Victory Over Calvary Chapel

Kevin Mohr dangled opportunity after opportunity in front of Calvary Chapel hitters. Then he yanked them away.

Mohr, a sophomore pitcher, put Cerritos Valley Christian into first place in the Olympic League baseball race, leading the Crusaders to a 1-0 victory over the Eagles at Valley Christian. It was a shutout, to be sure, but it left the Eagles wondering how it happened.

Calvary Chapel (10-6-1, 6-1-1) had runners in scoring position the first six innings. The Eagles had big-eyed opportunities with their biggest hitters up. Still, nothing.

Mohr (5-0) gave up six hits and walked four. The only time he was in complete command was in the seventh, when he struck out the side.

“I kept waiting for us to get that one big hit and we never did,” Calvary Chapel Coach Joe Walters said. “That kid got a big out every time he needed one.”

He needed quite a few.

Mohr was walking that fine line from the start. Rob Dennler and Ryan Blood opened the game with singles. They were on first and third with one out and clean-up hitter Joe Jones at the plate. Jones, who entered the game hitting .556, tapped back to the mound. Mohr, who finished with seven strikeouts, got Gabe Gerhardt swinging to end the inning.

And so it went.

The Eagles had a runner reach at least second base in each of the next three innings. They then loaded the bases with one out in the fifth. This time, Mohr got Gerhardt to hit into a fielder’s choice and Chance King to pop up.

“You wonder if you should go get a pitcher when he’s in trouble that much,” Valley Christian Coach Mike DeMaster said. “But Kevin made the decision easy. He kept getting big outs.”

Mohr also provided the only offense for the Crusaders (10-1, 8-1). He rolled a single into right field to score Kirk Saarloos from second in the first.

Mohr made the lead stand up, but only after giving the Eagles their chances.