Zuniga Brings a Powerful Presence to Rancho Santiago’s Second Spot

Tony Zuniga’s spot in the batting order--second--hasn’t changed in two seasons at Rancho Santiago. It’s his approach that is different.

Last season, Zuniga, an outstanding defensive shortstop, was a more traditional No. 2 hitter who spent much of his time trying to move runners into scoring position. He did his job well and was one of the keys to the Dons’ state championship.

This season, Zuniga hasn’t been nearly as generous to the hitters who follow him in the batting order.

He has nine home runs, seven more than last season, and also has driven in 48 runs, 11 more than last year. He is hitting .391 after batting .333 as a freshman for Rancho Santiago, which is in the second round of the Southern California playoffs starting Friday at Citrus College in Glendora.

His offensive numbers could be a little better, but he missed seven games as a result of being hit on the left hand with a pitch in a game against Fullerton the last week of March.

“I don’t know where the power has come from,” Zuniga said. “I just have more confidence and I get a lot of nice fastballs to hit because they don’t want to pitch to Derek [Baker, who leads the team with 14 home runs].”

There are many reasons for Zuniga’s increased confidence. He is a year older, 21, and also stronger.

He also grew greatly as a player when he took part in the tryouts for the U.S. national team last October in Homestead, Fla.

Zuniga was the only community college shortstop invited to the camp. He didn’t hit as well as he expected but was facing many of the nation’s top college pitchers.

“He’s just a baseball rat,” Rancho Santiago Coach Don Sneddon said. “It’s a big part of his life. It always has been . . . He’s the guy you want up at the plate with the game on the line.”

Zuniga didn’t make the national team but realized he could hold his own against much better pitching than he would consistently face on the community college level.

“It was an unforgettable experience,” he said. “My confidence really grew after that.”

Zuniga’s confidence really started to build late last season, especially at the state tournament. He was eight for 13, drove in five runs, scored five more, had a home run and was selected as the tournament’s most valuable player.

“It was an unforgettable year,” Zuniga said. “To win a championship, it doesn’t get much better than that. I would love to win them back-to-back.”

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More Zuniga: Hitting for more power isn’t the only added role Zuniga took on this season. He has also worked as the Dons’ closer.

Zuniga was a standout pitcher at Saddleback High, where he was the most valuable player in the Sea View League as a senior in 1994.

This season is 2-3 and tied for the team lead with four saves. He also has 16 strikeouts in 15 innings.

“I think shortstop is my primary position now,” said Zuniga, who has signed with Long Beach State. “It feels kind of awkward to pitch now.”

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Baseball pairings: In the regional at Cypress: Riverside (29-17) and Cypress (35-11), both members of the Orange Empire Conference, play at 11 a.m. and Saddleback (28-13), another member of the Orange Empire Conference, and Mt. San Antonio (27-18) play at 3 p.m. Friday.

At Citrus Friday: Rancho Santiago (33-12) takes on Cerritos (30-14) at 11 a.m. in a rematch of last year’s state title game. Citrus (36-7) and Los Angeles Harbor (28-14) meet at 3 p.m.

Play at both sites continues Saturday and the championship game is at 11 a.m. Sunday.

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Did you know: Since the state switched to the current baseball playoff format in 1988, 28 of the 72 teams (39%) that have advanced to the final eight in Southern California have been from the Orange Empire Conference.

Rancho Santiago has reached this round all nine times and Riverside and Cypress seven times each. Saddleback has made it twice and Fullerton, Golden West and Orange Coast once each.

Nine of the last 16 teams to reach the state tournament have been from the Orange Empire Conference and the conference has won four of the last five state titles.

Rancho Santiago won the state title last season and in 1993 and Cypress won it all in 1994 and 1991.

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Softball: Three teams from the Orange Empire Conference--Cypress, Fullerton and Saddleback--play in the state tournament starting Friday in Fremont.

In first-round games at noon: Cypress meets Merced and Saddleback takes on Sacramento. At 2 p.m.: Fullerton goes against West Valley and Palomar plays Solano.

The first-round winners meet at 5 and 7 p.m. The losers are off until Saturday. The double-elimination tournament concludes with the championship game Sunday.