Oh, Mercy! Calvary Chapel Wins Title

It’s not enough to say Calvary Chapel is a good team that had an extraordinary year.

It’s fair to say the 1999 Eagles, who romped to the Southern Section Division V championship Friday night with a 12-0 victory over Los Angeles Baptist, deserve a place among the best county teams of the decade.

Calvary Chapel (28-1-1), which had 12 hits and scored all its runs off starter Evan Regenstrief (7-3) in a game shortened to six innings because of the 10-run mercy rule, demolished the Knights at Blair Field the way they did all five playoff opponents.

The Eagles’ only loss was to La Habra in the first week of the season. Among their victories was a 12-9 decision over Riverside Arlington, which plays Long Beach Wilson for the Division I title tonight at Edison Field. The tie came against Olympic League foe Cerritos Valley Christian.

And in the playoffs only one team--Santa Monica St. Monica--scored on the Eagles in five games. Calvary Chapel, on the other hand, scored 55 runs.

“This was a very, very good team,” said Eagle Coach Joe Walters, who won the 1995 Division V championship. “It played a total game--hitting, running, fielding.”

Senior right-hander Brett Young, who won all five playoff games for Calvary, went 5 1/3 innings for the win and became the second pitcher in the county to record a 15-0 season. He gave up three of the Knights’ four hits, struck out six and walked three before turning the ball over to freshman Kyle Christensen, who got the last two outs.

“This is such a great feeling,” said Young, who is headed to Mississippi. “We’ve been blessed with so many good athletes here.”

Young wasn’t the only Eagle record setter. Shortstop Chad Sterbens, who had a double and a triple to drive in three runs (giving him the county lead in RBIs with 47), also stole two bases to raise his total to 45. That’s a single-season county record, passing Westminster’s Alex Vasquez who stole 44 in 1996.

“We wanted to win this one so bad for Joe,” said Sterbens, who is also headed to Mississippi. “He’s losing 11 seniors and it’s going to be hard the next couple of years. But this was a great way to end my high school career, winning a championship.”

L.A. Baptist (18-7), the third place team from the Alpha League, had its best chance to score in the fifth when it loaded the bases on two hits and a walk with one out. But Richard Wendt’s fly to center was not deep enough to score Matthew Myers from third. And Andrew Petersen, the team’s leading hitter (.482) was called out on strikes. Petersen protested vehemently, slammed his helmet to the ground and was ejected from the game.

“This was by far the best team we saw this year,” Baptist Coach Mark Hubbard said. “Considering some of the teams they beat, they probably could have competed in Division II or I. Young was dominating tonight.” Young helped Calvary Chapel jump out to an early lead in the first with a bases-loaded single on an 0-2 pitch to drive in two. Jon Smith made it 3-0 when his squeeze bunt scored Pastor Perez. But the Eagles were just getting warmed up.

Another three Calgary runs crossed the plate in the second. Calvary Chapel put the game away with a four-run sixth inning.