Capistrano Valley Repeats Itself

Pitcher Frank McLaughlin accomplished a rare feat Saturday night by winning his second consecutive start in a Southern Section Division I baseball championship game as Capistrano Valley High held off Long Beach Millikan, 4-3, at Dodger Stadium.

The senior left-hander wasn’t as sharp as he was in the Cougars’ 10-1 victory over Long Beach Wilson in last year’s final, but he was good enough to hold the lead into the seventh for freshman closer Jason Corder.

Corder retired Millikan’s final two batters as the Cougars (23-8) became the first team to win consecutive Division I titles since Fountain Valley in 1994 and ’95.

“I didn’t feel like I was throwing my best,” said McLaughlin, who gave up five hits and three runs--two earned--in 6 1/3 innings. “I just tried to throw strikes and let our defense do the work.”

Trailing, 4-3, in the sixth, the Rams (22-10) had the tying run at third base but failed to bring him in. Jay Faulk had reached base on third baseman Justin Demere’s throw in the dirt to first base and took second when the ball skipped into the photographers’ well.

Faulk went to third on a groundout but was left stranded when McLaughlin struck out Justin Tisdale looking on a 3-and-2 pitch.

McLaughlin (9-2) induced a groundout to start the seventh and then gave way to Corder, who struck out the final two hitters to record his fifth save.

“I wasn’t nervous,” said Corder, who was promoted from the freshman team halfway through the season. “I knew I would be coming in to face the righties.”

Brennan Jackson’s three-run double capped a four-run first for Capistrano Valley against Millikan starter Matt Anderson, who entered the game with a 0.85 earned-run average. Adam Sorgi and Demere hit one-out singles, and Brad Davis walked to load the bases. Kyle Mowery’s single to shallow center field drove in Sorgi, setting the stage for Jackson.

“[Anderson] threw me a pitch down and in where I like it, and I got the best of it,” Jackson said.

Millikan scored its first run in the second and scored two more runs in the third to make the score 4-3, thanks in part to two Capistrano Valley errors.