Mater Dei’s Cory Hahn is The Times’ player of the year

Cory Hahn posted plenty of numbers. As a pitcher, he won his last eight decisions to finish with a 14-1 record and 0.89 earned-run average, plus he batted .411 with 10 home runs and 24 runs batted in.

The most impressive figures the senior from Santa Ana Mater Dei put up all season: five zeroes.

The left-hander pitched five perfect innings against Dana Hills in the Southern Section Division 1 championship game, combining with Ty Moore on a perfect game in a 2-0 victory.

Hahn also hit the only home run in the four title games played at the Diamond in Lake Elsinore, and he made an over-the-shoulder catch near the warning track after moving to center field in the sixth inning.

“He was a one-man wrecking crew the day that he played us,” Dana Hills Coach Tom Faris said of Hahn, The Times’ player of the year. “He obviously pitched really well on the mound, made a great play in the outfield and hit a ball that is still going.

“He’s kind of like Mighty Mouse.”

At 5 feet 10 and 160 pounds, Hahn packed plenty of punch in the postseason. He pitched in four of Mater Dei’s five playoff games, going 4-0 and giving up one unearned run in 23 innings. He also hit three homers to spark an offense that averaged more than seven runs a game.

The Monarchs needed Hahn to carry them after losing ace Matt Blanchard to a shoulder injury before the season. They were only 1-3 in March when, because of a scheduling quirk, Hahn was able to start consecutive games against powers Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley, Orange Lutheran and San Juan Capistrano JSerra.

“He got three wins for us,” Mater Dei Coach Burt Call said of Hahn, “and we started rallying around Cory.”

That was never more important than in the playoffs. In the first round against Newbury Park, Hahn went two for three with a homer and gave up one unearned run in seven innings. He one-upped himself in the second round against Camarillo, crushing a three-run homer and pitching six scoreless innings.

After being confined to the outfield for the Monarchs’ quarterfinal victory over Lakewood because of section inning-limit rules, Hahn was ready to pitch as long as needed in a semifinal against Simi Valley Royal. With Mater Dei on the way to a 10-0 victory, Call pulled Hahn after the fifth inning.

That left five innings for the championship game against Dana Hills. Hahn, who mixes a two-seam fastball and changeup with a sharp-breaking curve, was untouchable, not yielding a hit or a walk and reaching a three-ball count on only one of the 15 hitters he faced.

Of course, he wasn’t able to enjoy the moment until Moore finished off the Dolphins with two perfect innings of his own.

“It was too close of a game to sit and go, ‘This is really fun and special,’” Hahn said, “because one mistake here or there, one hit could spark their offense and it could be a different ballgame.”

Call said Hahn’s talent is trumped only by his competitiveness, which Hahn said he derived from his father, a former baseball player at Chico State.

“I don’t like to lose,” the younger Hahn said. “I’ve always been a bitter loser.”

He didn’t consider it a personal defeat when the San Diego Padres waited until the 26th round to take him last week in baseball’s amateur draft, realizing that his $600,000 asking price was probably steep enough to send him to college, where he will play for Arizona State.

“It’s always one of the top programs every year,” Hahn said of the Sun Devils. “I came to the conclusion that it would have to take quite a bit of money to pull me away from the experience there.”

Given his final season with the Monarchs, Hahn isn’t ready to forgo the rest of his amateur career.

“It’s something you don’t want to end,” he said. “I wish we could keep playing right now.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com

The Times’ All-Star Baseball Team

Pitchers: Cody Buckel, Simi Valley Royal, Sr., Adam Plutko, Glendora, Sr. Utility: Hahn. Infielders: Rio Ruiz, La Puente Bishop Amat, Soph., Austin Davidson, Oxnard, Jr., Scotty Burcham, Palm Desert, Jr., Rouric Bridgewater, Diamond Ranch, Jr. Catcher: Aaron Jones, San Clemente, Sr. Outfielders: Austin Wilson, North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, Sr., Brando Tessar, West Hills Chaminade, Sr., Michael Lorenzen, Fullerton, Sr.

For all-star baseball profiles, coach of the year story and final high school rankings — plus The Times’ all-star softball team — go to latimes.com/sports.