Capistrano Valley Overcomes Early Jitters

Last year Capistrano Valley was a playoff pup, a Division I underdog happy to upset El Dorado and make eventual champion Fountain Valley sweat out a victory.

Times have changed. This season, the fourth-seeded Cougars are the hunted. Friday it took them five innings to work through first-round nerves, but they prevailed against at Esperanza, 5-1.

In beating Esperanza ace Jim Pickel (11-4), Cougar starter Rik Currier (9-2) didn’t pitch a smooth game, retiring the Aztecs in order only once in seven innings.

Currier gave up five singles, walked two and struck out 11. Seven were on called third strikes. Third baseman Bryan Snapp was the only Esperanza batter not to strike out at least once.

Capistrano Valley (22-4) advances to the second round against Camarillo, a 13-9 winner over Chino Hills Ayala. Esperanza’s seasons ended at 14-12.

“Last year we weren’t expected to win and it was fun,” Currier said. “This year we are expected to win; but it’s still fun. And if you are a good team, you should be able to win anywhere.”

The Cougars had to open the playoffs on the road, something they didn’t expect when the pairings were announced Monday.

“I know it was done according to the rules,” Coach Bob Zamora said. “But something is wrong when a team that has won 21 games and is seeded fourth can’t open at home.”

Esperanza failed to get to Currier early. In each of the first three innings, an Aztec runner advanced to at least second, but the only run came in the fourth on an RBI single by Bryan Kaylor.

Capistrano Valley turned the game around in the fifth on two plays that didn’t involve a hit. Mike Clifton walked and advanced to second on a balk. On an 0-2 pitch, Clifton took off for third as Matt Pope swung and missed at a ball in the dirt.

Esperanza catcher David Parrish, instead of going to first, tried to throw Clifton out at third, but Clifton beat the throw.

Capistrano Valley then shook off the hypnotic effect of Pickel’s tailing fastballs and big curves. A sacrifice fly, a bunt single, an RBI liner to center by Bryan Canfield and an error on the play gave the Cougars three runs and a lead they did not relinquish.

In other Division I games:

Fountain Valley 4, Bellflower St. John Bosco 2--Steve Schenewerk gave up six hits, striking out eight to lead Fountain Valley (21-6), which will play Arcadia in the second round.

Katella 4, Los Alamitos 1--Keawe Kuehnel knocked in the winning run with a double in the sixth inning for Katella (21-6). John Baldridge had two hits and an RBI for Katella, which will La Puente Bishop Amat in the next round.

Los Angeles Loyola 10, El Dorado 2--Dave Myers homered for El Dorado (15-11).

Mater Dei 5, Rialto Eisenhower 4--Mater Dei scored all of its runs in the fifth inning, starting with Mike Kolbach’s two-run triple. Mike Hessman followed with an RBI single and Ryan Blackmun capped the inning with a two-run home run. Mater Dei (22-3) plays Santa Fe Springs St. Paul in a second-round game Tuesday.

Santa Fe Springs St. Paul 12, Cypress 3--Bobby Brito was two for four in his final high school game for Cypress (19-7).