Keller Steps Back in Quickly Despite Broken Foot : Baseball: Fountain Valley pitcher/shortstop returns from rehab ahead of schedule in fine form.

The plan was simple. Ease Dan Keller back into Fountain Valley’s lineup.

There was no need to rush things. He could take baby steps with that broken foot. The Barons could survive a few more games without him.

A nice plan. Keller, a senior pitcher/shortstop, just didn’t cooperate. He pitched a one-hitter in his second start.

“We wanted to work him back slowly,” Coach Ron La Ruffa said. “It just didn’t happen. He kept getting people out, so we left him in there.”

Nice rehab, welcome back.

For Keller, who broke his foot playing for the Barons’ basketball team, the pain was having to miss the first five games. The agony has since been placed on those he pitches against.

Keller, who pitched in only one game last season, is 7-0 with a 1.35 earned-run average. He will start against La Puente Bishop Amat in Saturday’s Southern Section Division I championship game.

“It was tough early on,” Keller said. “I worried about my arm strength. I didn’t know how I would do.”

Keller needn’t have worried.

He one-hit Esperanza in his second start. He gave up two hits in seven innings against Huntington Beach but got a no-decision. He then one-hit Marina, winning a key Sunset League game, 2-1.

Keller gave up only five hits in his first 24 innings, which included a three-inning stint against Edison. La Ruffa and Co. were ready to pronounce him fit.

“We were struggling without Dan,” senior Luke Hudson said. “Then he comes back and starts mowing people down. We realized how fortunate we were to have him back.”

Keller was a rock in the field last season, helping the Barons become the first top-seeded team in 25 years to win the Division I title. He has continued that slick glove work this season, but on an every-other-game basis.

La Ruffa gave Keller a chance to pitch this season and it has proved to be a slick move. Keller has pitched so well that UCLA swooped in and signed him.

Friday was a typical performance. Capistrano Valley scored two runs in the first. Keller then retired 13 consecutive batters, giving the Barons time to rally for a 3-2 victory.

Keller, who allowed only four hits, struck out the side to close out the game.

“The kid has ice water in his veins,” La Ruffa said. “He’s going to make a great golfer when he takes that sport up. He’ll never wrap a club around a tree.”

La Ruffa would have liked to use Keller’s poise on the mound last season, but circumstances got in the way. Keller was just too valuable elsewhere.

Keller started one game, but the Barons’ backup shortstop made four errors in the first inning. Keller played shortstop the rest of the season.

He hit only .280, but his play in the field was essential.

“Saved me too many times to count,” Hudson said.

Said La Ruffa: “He has a calming effect on the entire team. I wanted to use him on the mound, but we couldn’t afford to lose him in the field.”

Victor Ortega’s development at shortstop gave Keller his chance. Ortega played five errorless games in Keller’s absence and now starts when Keller is on the mound.

“I knew I could have been pitching last year, but I also knew my time would come,” Keller said.

It almost didn’t.

Keller, who helped the basketball team win back-to-back Sunset League titles, went up for a layup midway through the fourth quarter against Los Alamitos. When he came down, his right foot hurt.

He finished the game, scoring 13 of his team-high 29 points in the fourth quarter. Only afterward did he go to the hospital.

“The doctor and nurses kept telling me they were sure it wasn’t broken,” Keller said. “Then the doctor came in with the X-ray, smiling, and said it was broken. I couldn’t believe it. All I could do was play long toss and wait.”

Said La Ruffa: “I think it shows what sort of competitor he is, playing like that on a broken foot. It was a key game and he wanted to be in there.”

La Ruffa has seen that determination on the mound.

Keller’s one-hitter against Marina put the Barons one game ahead of the Vikings in the league race. He threw only 75 pitches, 50 of which were strikes.

Fountain Valley stayed in first place the rest of the season.

“That game was important to me,” Keller said. “We needed that win.”