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Lions baseball beats Nordhoff, 14-10, looks toward CIF playoffs
The Oaks Christian baseball team improved to 14-9 overall and 5-2 in Frontier League play, good for second place currently, when it defeated league foe Nordhoff, 14-10, in a game played at the OCHS campus in Westlake Village last Friday afternoon. Ben Adams, a senior centerfielder, hit a fourth-inning two-run home run and also drove in two runs with a third-inning single. The homer was his sixth of the season. Carson Ludwig, a senior first baseman, had two hits, two runs batted in and two runs scored, and junior shortstop Zac Landrum scored three runs, tripled, walked twice and had one RBI. The Lions scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, two more in the bottom of the second, three in the third, four in the fourth and three more in the fifth, and were ahead 14-5 after five innings, one run short of winning via the 10-run mercy rule. But Nordhoff fought back with five runs in the top of the seventh inning and had the bases loaded when its threat finally ended. "It wasn’t pretty," said Lions’ head coach Frank Mutz. "I thought offensively we did some things very well, but with a team like Nordhoff, they’re very scrappy. They kept coming back at us and we didn’t put them away." The Lions’ coach said his team has gotten good starting pitching this season but that the defense and relief pitching must improve if OCHS is to be a successful playoff team. "Anytime we’ve got Peter Dunn or Joey Navarro on the mound, we have a good chance of winning," said Mutz, "as long as we play defense. Our starting pitching is doing well, but we sometimes have to get four or five outs an inning. If we plan on being a playoff team, we have to correct that. "If this ball club wants to win, we’re going to have to have some relief pitching," Mutz said. "We’re going to have to be able to have guys come off the bench and come out of the bullpen and throw strikes—and that hasn’t happened, yet." Dunn is a senior. Navarro is a sophomore. "In my opinion, Peter Dunn is the MVP of this league," Mutz said. "He’s batting close to .600 and he’s 5-2 as a pitcher. He’s the best pitcher in this league, and right now, he’s the best hitter in this league." Adams has been hot lately after struggling early in the season. "He’s our production at the bottom of the order," Mutz said of Adams. "He hits well out of the seventh spot, so I don’t want to change it. He’s hitting close to .400 and I don’t think too many other guys in Ventura County have six home runs." Mutz said the Lions have benefited from the return of Ludwig, who was a catcher before injuring his thumb, but now is playing first base. Oaks Christian also got stronger with the return of Eric Kristensen, a junior second baseman who’s back after an ankle injury and the team is getting solid play from sophomore catcher Miles Rattet, who’s filled in well for Ludwig. Two freshmen, Devin Shepherd, who played right field vs. Nordhoff, and Jimmy Dunn, who played third base, have been promising, too. Sophomore first baseman Chris Auten is out for the season after tearing the labrum in his shoulder during the Lions’ football season. "I’m really pleased with the way we’re swinging the bats and the way we’re running the bases," Mutz said. "If we continue to hit the way we have, we’ll keep winning." The Lions’ coach added that his team needs to work on specific conditions. "One thing we definitely have to work on is knowing our situations," Mutz said. He referred to the 14-5 lead the Lions had against Nordhoff. "When you’re up nine runs, your pitchers don’t need to try and pick guys off base or to try to trick batters with off-speed stuff. "You don’t have to pitch like that," he added. "Just go right after people with your best pitch, which is a fastball in a good location, and you’ll end up with good results." Andrew Stiny, a senior, got the save vs. Nordhoff when he pitched the game’s final out, coming in with the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate. |
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