Southern Section Baseball Playoffs : Experience Pays Off for Capistrano Valley in 7-1 Win

Capistrano Valley High School’s playoff experience, magnified by Duarte’s lack of it, helped the Cougars to a 7-1 first-round victory Thursday in Southern Section 2-A baseball playoffs at Capistrano Valley.

Capistrano Valley, the 2-A’s second-seeded team, has eight players who started in playoff games last season. Duarte was making the first playoff appearance in school history.

Capistrano Valley (22-3), the South Coast League champion, needed only four hits. Duarte (10-11) helped the Cougars with four errors, three walks, two hit batters and several mental mistakes.

“That was not even close to how our team should play,� said Gary Jensen, Duarte coach. “That’s why it is so disappointing. We didn’t play to our potential at all.�

Duarte, which managed only three hits, can blame its offensive problems on Capistrano Valley pitcher Brett Snyder, who survived a rocky start. Snyder (10-1) allowed a first-inning home run to Eric Dorsey and a bloop single to Garet Gruber but then didn’t give up a hit for 4 innings.

Snyder, the league’s co-most valuable player with teammate Tommy Adams, was lifted after five innings with a 7-1 lead. Jim Kemper finished up.

After Dorsey’s homer, Capistrano Valley tied the score, 1-1, on Mike Pierce’s two-out RBI single in the second. The Cougars scored three in the third and three more in the fourth.

Three walks--two intentional--and a hit batter helped Capistrano Valley in the third. Bill Bartens drew a bases-loaded walk with two out, then Charles Lockard drove in two runs with a single on a 3-2 pitch.

In the fourth, Chris Ashbach’s sacrifice fly and Brian Walker’s double each drove in a run for Capistrano Valley. An error by shortstop Randy Mora gave the Cougars their final run.

“I’m disappointed in our hitting, but I’m glad we won,� said Bob Zamora, who has coached Capistrano Valley to the playoffs nine of his 10 years. “That’s the bottom line in the playoffs.�