Oaks Christian heads into baseball playoffs

By Steve Ames Special to The Acorn

Payback came quickly for the Oaks Christian High School baseball team last week, and as the season finished, the Lions (17-6, 11-1) were the Frontier League champions.

The Lions open the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Division IV playoffs at 3:15 p.m. tomorrow, May 21 at home by playing the winner of a wild card game that was played on Tuesday.

Vying to play Oaks Christian were the Pacifica/Garden Grove Mariners, the Garden Grove League’s No. 3 team, and the Rosemead Panthers, the Mission Valley League’s No. 3 team.

The Oak Park Eagles, the Tri Valley League’s No. 3 team, is also scheduled to host a game at 3:15 tomorrow against the winner of a wild card game (either the Sereno/Phelan Diamondbacks, the Mojave River League’s No. 3, or the St. Paul/Santa Fe Springs Swordsmen, the Del Rey League’s No. 1 team.

The Lions completed their league season by splitting with the Santa Paula Cardinals. In the week’s first game, after Oaks Christian and host Santa Paula were tied, 7-7, as the fourth inning ended, the Lions scored repeatedly and won, 19-7.

Senior third baseman Zak Landrum was 4-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs, Junior Chris Auten went 3-for-5 with a double, homer and four RBIs, senior right fielder Sean Travis was 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, senior catcher Greg Cole went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, sophomore center fielder Devin Shepherd was 2-for-4, including a double and two RBIs, designated hitter Joey Navaro went 2-for-4, and senior second baseman Eric Kristensen was 2-for-5.

Sophomore Joe Dembesky (1-0) started, pitched three innings and was credited with the win.

On Friday, the teams met again at Oaks Christian in a game that started 20 minutes late and with only an umpire behind the plate. The Cards (12-11 overall, 5-7 league) were the overwhelming winner, 16-8.

Santa Paula scored early and often, sending 17 batters to the plate to score 10 runs in the second inning, one run each in the fifth and sixth innings, and four more in the seventh.

"This is a hitters’ ballpark for sure," said Oaks Christian head coach Frank Mutz.

Cole (6-1), who moved from pitcher to catcher with no outs after facing eight batters and Oaks Christian recording no outs in the second inning, took the loss.

Regarding Cole, Mutz said, "He was fine. He was upset. He didn’t throw well. I put him behind the plate and he had a great game behind the plate. He didn’t lose his composure. He kept it together and kept our team going. I don’t think we gave up the whole game."

Senior shortstop Scott Feskins hit 1-for-3, including a double, and Travis went 2-for-4, including a home run.

The Lions hadn’t been soundly beaten since March 8 in the Daily News Victory Invitational Tournament when the Westlake Warriors beat Oaks Christian, 17-6, after the Lions had opened a 6-1 lead.

Mutz, referring to the loss to Santa Paula, said his team faced a determined foe.

"We had our ace on the staff pitching, a guy who has had an incredible year," he said. "Santa Paula came out and they really needed to win to get into the playoffs and they really did their job.

"They were ready to play. We weren’t, simple. In this game, particularly in high school, if you don’t come out ready to play, you lose," Mutz said.

Sometimes a loss at the end of the regular season can be a blessing, according to Mutz.

"It wakes you up getting ready for playoffs," he said. "It makes you realize you can’t just show up on the field and play. You’ve got to be ready to play every inning, every pitch of every game. It could be a wakeup call for us," Mutz said. "We had a couple of pitchers who came in and didn’t throw well. That’s all. They got the ball up in the zone, and they got hit, and normally they don’t do that just in one game. It’s a wakeup call to the pitchers."

On the bright side, he said, the Lions scored eight runs.

Mutz said the Lions are ready for the playoffs.

"I hope that we get an opportunity to go a little bit deeper as we go for our first playoff win," he said. "Hopefully we can get deep into the playoffs. It would be nice to play in Dodger Stadium."

Second-round playoff games will be next Tuesday, quarterfinal games will be Fri., May 28 and semifinal games will be played on Tues., June 1. The Division IV championship game will be played on Sat., June 5 at Dodger Stadium.