Corder’s Contributions Are a Good Variety Show

As a young boy, Jason Corder used to fall asleep at night with his baseball glove at his side because he “loved the game.”

At 17, he no longer sleeps with his glove, but his dreams haven’t changed.

“My life revolves around baseball,” he said.

A junior at Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley High, he’s a 6-foot-2, 190-pound pitcher and outfielder with exceptional talent.

Last season, he set school records with 11 home runs, a batting average of .500, 37 runs batted in and 16 doubles. And hitting isn’t what he does best.

Corder’s right arm is so powerful and his composure so unperturbable that Coach Bob Zamora chose to use him as a closer this season. He likes the luxury of bringing in a fearless teenager who can throw 90 mph for one or two innings and erase any threat of defeat.

“The scouts have said he’ll probably go first round [next year],” Zamora said.

Last season, Corder was 7-3 with a 2.14 earned-run average and 88 strikeouts in 71 innings. This season, he has four saves and has given up only one run in 10 innings for the 14-0 Cougars. He’s also batting .436 with six home runs.

It’s not as if Corder’s success is a surprise. People have known about him for years around Mission Viejo because of his play in Little League and travel ball.

“Everyone had heard of Jason Corder,” Zamora said.

But Zamora did something two years ago that few coaches want to do. He turned to a 15-year-old freshman in the two biggest games of the season.

Corder got the save in Capistrano Valley’s 1-0 nine-inning semifinal playoff victory over Fontana Miller. Then, in the Division I final at Dodger Stadium, Corder struck out the final two batters in the seventh to save a 4-3 victory over Long Beach Millikan.

He couldn’t drive, he barely needed to shave, but Corder showed he could pitch with the best. Zamora told him that he had “ice water in his veins.”

“At that time, he was throwing 90 mph,” Zamora said. “That was phenomenal. There wasn’t anyone in school that could throw harder, and he could throw strikes.

“We had him on the freshman team because we didn’t want to take him away from his peers. He was overmatching people and then we had an injury to one of our pitchers, and he was a closer.”

Corder was called up to varsity at midseason, and the rest is Cougar lore.

Only a couple of weeks ago, Corder was starting to reflect on his accomplishment from 2001.

“It’s starting to sink in right now, it really is,” he said. “We brought up some sophomores and I went, ‘Oh my gosh, I was a freshman pitching at Dodger Stadium.’ ”

It was a moment that will be hard to top.

“Oh, wow, it was great coming in there in the seventh inning,” he said. “It was a rush. Nothing is the same feeling after doing that.”

Corder had earned such a reputation for his pitching that Zamora didn’t know he was also a hitter until giving him the chance last season.

“Actually, I like doing both,” Corder said.

His hitting discipline was visible in a game against San Clemente. He had a single to left field against a right-hander, hit a single to right field against a left-hander then singled for a third time. On Tuesday, he hit two home runs, the last a two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-5 victory over Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills.

Of course, he benefits from playing on an unbeaten team that’s ranked No. 3 by The Times. Shortstop Adam Sorgi has signed with Stanford and is batting .465. Second baseman Greg Gattis is batting .478. And the Cougars have 11 players who can pitch. They could play doubleheaders three consecutive days and not run out of pitching.

“We’re pitching rich,” Zamora said.

Corder isn’t only impressive as a player. He has a 3.4 grade-point average, seems friendly and approachable, and appreciates the influence of his mother, Darlene.

“My mom has always been there for me,” he said. “She’s always making me a better person.”

Commitment is important in the Corder family. Zamora remembers two years ago when Corder couldn’t pitch during a spring-break tournament because he had promised to dig latrines in Mexico as part of a church project.

Zamora made a deal. “I’ll let you go to Mexico and dig your latrines if I get you the next three years,” he said.

“OK, Coach,” Corder said.

The latrines were dug, lessons were learned and Capistrano Valley got back its closer extraordinaire for good.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com