This weeks Orange County Top 10 didn’t see any movement
among the top five teams. Although JSerra lost at Palm Desert, it’s tough to
penalize a team that traveled two hours and lost in walk-off fashion.
Huntington Beach also lost a game; it was to number one JSerra.
There was however some movement at the bottom of the
list.Cypress dropped out of the top ten
after going 1-1 with their win coming in a one run game against Loara, and their
loss to Long Beach Wilson.
Esperanza checks into the Top 10 at number eight after a 2-0
week that included a 10-6 win over Mater Dei where the Aztecs scored 9 runs over
the final four innings.
Below is the Top 10. List
and records only reflect games played from 3/3/14 – 3/9/14.
Previous rank
in parentheses.
1.JSerra 1-1 (1): The Lions lost at Palm
Desert before winning a wild game against Huntington Beach. HB had a 5-0 lead
before JSerra ultimately won 11-8. Brady Shockey had a big week for the Lions
who are still looking for more consistency from their pitching staff.
This Week: Foothill; Newport Elks Tournament
2. Huntington Beach
1-1 (2): The Oilers took care of Foothill with relative ease winning 7-2
before dropping the aforementioned game to JSerra on Saturday.Senior Jesse Kuet and junior Tyler Murray are
off to good starts for the Oilers, as is junior pitcher Noah Davis.
This Week: Palm Desert; Newport Elks Tournament
3. Los Alamitos 2-0
(3): The Griffins have yet to play a team that’s presented any serious
competition, which makes their 3-2 win over Downey a bit surprising. It’s
surprising because of how close the game was and because Jacob Nix started on the
mound. Los Al pounded El Modena 14-5 later in the week.
This Week: Loara Tournament
4. Aliso Niguel 2-0
(4): The Wolverines got off to a hot start with the bats in a season
opening 7-5 victory over Edison. In game two, Kyle Molnar went five strong
innings allowing zero runs before ceding to the bullpen in a 2-1 win over Long
Beach Millikan. Molnar is also hitting .500 on the season.
This Week: Vista Murrieta; Loara Tournament
5. San Clemente 3-1
(5): The Tritons won their season opener in big fashion over Covina 11-0 before
dropping a game at Long Beach Wilson 4-1. San Clemente bounced back with a solid
1-0 win against a tough Sonora team before getting a big 4-3 win over Santa
Margarita and their ace, Griffin Canning. The Tritons need more
consistent offensive production if they’re going to hang around the top of the
rankings.
This Week: Norwalk; Loara Tournament
6. El Dorado 2-0 (9):
The Golden Hawks got a dominating performance out of junior, Nick Sprengel, en
route to a 5-0 win over Woodbridge, but it was the performance from their number two pitcher that has people taking. Austin Fresquez shut down a powerful Marina lineup
and got enough offense to secure a 1-0 win for El Dorado.
This Week: Long Beach Wilson; Loara Tournament
7. Fountain Valley
3-1 (10): The Barons split a double header with Sonora before pounding El
Toro 10-4 and sneaking past a gritty and improved Pacifica team, 3-2. Pitching
was a big question mark for Fountain Valley coming into the season and so far
it’s held up.
This Week: Loara Tournament
8. Esperanza 2-0 (NR):
The Aztecs are the surprise of the early season starting with their 5-1 win
over a good Trabuco Hills team. If that wasn’t enough, the Aztecs made some
noise with a 10-6 win over Mater Dei. Esperanza was trailing after the third
inning before scoring 9 runs over the last four innings en route to the win. The Aztecs are getting
it done with pitching and hot hitting, lead by senior Tristan Hildebrandt.
This Week: Bishop Amat; Newport Elks Tournament
9. Orange Lutheran
1-1 (7): The Lancers got a gem of a pitching performance from Garret King
in a 2-1 extra-inning win over Capo Valley in the season opener. In game two
against Gahr, the Lancers couldn’t buy a break in a 3-2 loss. The depth of the
pitching staff was a question coming into the season and it’s being tested
early.
This Week: Corona; Newport Elks Tournament
10. Mater Dei 1-1 (8):
The Monarchs got a nice 2-1 win in their season opener against Bishop Amat.
Senior Charlie Vorschek showed his improved delivery which has added velocity
to his fastball and more effective offspeed stuff. Mater Dei took one on the
chin against Esperanza in game two, dropping a 10-6 game. Pitching depth has to
be a concern for Mater Dei, but if the bats can get hot, they’ll score enough
runs to ease that concern.
This Week: Trabuco Hills; Newport Elks Tournament
Others: Santa
Margarita (1-1); Mission Viejo (2-2); Trabuco Hills (2-1); Tesoro (4-0); Laguna
Beach (2-0); Edison (2-2); Capo Valley (3-1-1); Canyon (1-1)