Crespi Hitters Pitch In to Help Defeat Loyola, 17-7

There’s something very strange going on with Crespi High’s baseball team. The Celts have relied on strong pitching throughout the 1990s, with the likes of Jeff Suppan, Keith Evans, Jon Cuccias and Brian Felten.

Known as the Valley’s pitching guru, Crespi Coach Scott Muckey is wondering how his team can be 7-0-1, 3-0 in the Mission League with his two top junior pitchers, Michael Jackson and Tim Leveque, having earned-run averages above 3.70.

“I’m going to fire the pitching coach,” Muckey said.

The Celts don’t need a lot of pitching the way they are hitting the ball. In their 17-7, five-inning Mission League victory over Loyola on Tuesday at Valley College, half of the Celts’ 10 hits were for extra bases.

Add to that, three Loyola (4-4, 1-2) pitchers walked 14 batters.

Center fielder Andy Campanella, perhaps the hottest hitter in the region, lined a three-run home run over the left-field fence in the first inning and finished with five runs batted in. He’s batting .643 (18 for 28) with 20 RBIs.

“He’s every pitcher’s dream,” Jackson said of Campanella, who has signed with UC Santa Barbara. “Every time he’s up and there’s runners in scoring position, you’re guaranteed runs.”

Catcher Tim Mathews had a single, triple and four RBIs. Third baseman Ron Lauer and outfielder Brian Horwitz each had run-scoring triples. Shortstop Zeke Morrow contributed a three-run double.

Loyola collected 13 hits off Jackson (2-0), but he walked none and struck out four.

The Cubs can hit, as demonstrated by their 19 runs last week in two games against St. Francis. But their pitchers have given up 36 runs in the past three games.

“They got more hits than we did, but we hit the ball hard when we needed to,” Campanella said.

The good news for Crespi is that its pitching staff figures to improve considerably by the time the Celts face tough league games next month against Notre Dame and Chaminade.

“We were expecting the pitching to be our strong suit,” Mathews said. “I’m sure they’ll settle down. You feel good we’re winning, but our pitching and defense isn’t as solid as it could be.”

Muckey is an expert in producing top pitchers.

Jackson, a left-hander, was a dominant thrower in summer ball.

Leveque, a right-hander, picked up several key victories last season as a sophomore.

Muckey is hoping both will return to their earlier form.

“I wish I had the answers,” he said.

But what happens if Crespi’s pitchers get their act together?

“We’ll be unstoppable,” Mathews said.