Santa Margarita was feeling pretty good about itself going into Trinity League play.
The Eagles had won eight of its past nine games, with the loss being by one run to El Toro. Their first league opponent was JSerra. Trinity League teams play three league games a week, with all three games against the same opponent.
JSerra walloped Santa Margarita in the first game, 10-2, on April 12. As Santa Margarita coach Dave Bacani described it, “We got punched in the mouth.”
Another loss, 7-6, followed. If there is such a thing as “a good loss,” that game was it. The Eagles showed they could compete with the best.
“That loss gave us confidence,” Bacani said. “While we don’t have the returning superstars some teams have, we’re still a good team and that game proved it to us.”
The Eagles handily beat JSerra, 12-4, in the final game of the three-game series. Last week, they swept St. John Bosco in three league games. They have won four league games in a row, averaging nine runs a game.
Santa Margarita is 16-5 overall and in third place in the six-team Trinity League with a 4-2 league record. The top three finishers in the Trinity League qualify for the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.
Konnor Kwok, a senior right-handed pitcher, is 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings. He has 16 strikeouts over his past 10 innings.
Senior outfielder/infielder Johnny Carr is batting .373 with 18 runs scored and 16 RBI. Last week, Carr was 5 for 9 with six runs scored and four RBI.
Sophomore pitcher/first baseman Chandler Champlain and junior shortstop/third baseman Josh Nicoloff have been clutch hitters. Seniors, though, have been the foundation of the Eagles’ success.
“Our seniors are the backbone of the team,” Bacani said. “They’re not getting their names in the headlines, but we have a ton of seniors who are good leaders and good at keeping the team loose.”
Around the horn in Orange County baseball:
• The county baseball top 10 has JSerra at No. 1 and Orange Lutheran at No. 2. The CIF-Southern Section Division 1 poll has it the other way around, with Orange Lutheran at No. 1 and JSerra at No. 2. El Toro is No. 4 and Cypress is No. 9 in the Division 1 top 10.
• JSerra and Orange Lutheran play each other three times this week, starting today in a 7 p.m. game at Hart Park in Orange. Wednesday’s game is at 6 p.m. at JSerra. The series concludes with a 7 p.m. game at Hart Park on Friday.
• Academy League teams Crean Lutheran and Sage Hill are 1-2, in that order, in the CIF-SS Division 6 rankings. Sage Hill is in first place in the league, with a 6-0 league record, with Crean second at 4-0. They play each other May 3 and 6.
• Three Pacific Coast League teams are in the CIF-SS Division 3 top 10. Woodbridge and Beckman are No. 3 and 4, respectively. Corona del Mar is No. 9.
• In the Division 2 poll, Foothill is No. 3 and San Clemente is No. 8. Troy is No. 5 in Division 4.
• The county top 10 is the result of a poll of five media members who cover county baseball. The CIF-SS rankings are from coaches polls. The CIF-SS rankings influence seedings in the CIF-SS playoffs, which begin May 17.
• The Orange County all-star baseball game is June 7 at La Palma Park’s Dee Fee Field in Anaheim. Greg Pines of Rancho Alamitos is the North coach. Fountain Valley’s Deric Yanagisawa will coach the South.
• If you go to that all-star game, or any game at Dee Fee Field, do not park in the neighborhood that is on the south side of La Palma Blvd. That now is a parking-permit neighborhood. Cars without permits have been decorated with citations.
• Cypress senior Isaiah Parra last week was 5 for 7 with three doubles and four runs scored as the Centurions swept Western in two Empire League games and beat Torrance in a nonleague game. Parra signed with San Diego State.
• Kennedy is tied with Cypress for first in the Empire League. Both are 4-0 in league. Kennedy sophomore right-handed pitcher Aaron Fishman is 8-1 with a 1.10 ERA.
• El Toro senior first baseman/third baseman Gavin Garcia was 5 for 12 with six RBI in the Chargers’ three wins last week.
• Troy swept Fullerton in two league games last week to remain in first place in the Freeway League. The Warriors (8-1 in league) play second-place Sonora (7-2 in league) on Wednesday at Troy and Friday at Sonora. Sonora has won 12 of its past 13 games.
• Corona del Mar, with a team ERA of 0.83, this week plays two Pacific Coast League games against Woodbridge, which has a team ERA of 1.55. Expected starting pitchers today for their game at Corona del Mar are Jake Larson, who is 6-2 with a 0.71 ERA for Woodbridge, and Corona del Mar’s Evan Larsen, who is 7-1 with a 0.41 ERA.
• Angel Stadium continues to support county baseball by playing host to several games there again this season. On Friday, it’s St. Margaret’s vs. Saddleback Valley Christian in a 3:30 p.m. nonleague game followed by Edison vs. Huntington Beach in a Sunset League game at 6:30 p.m.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
