Cypress stays unbeaten in Empire League

If baseball does not work out for him, John Valenzuela might become a good hockey goaltender some day.

With Valenzuela at bat and a squeeze play underway with Cypress teammate John Lohr racing for home plate, the pitch was low, outside and barely above Valenzuela’s ankles.

Like a goalie making a stick save, Valenzuela got the bat on the ball just enough to deflect it foul and keep Lohr from getting tagged out at the plate. He successfully bunted the next pitch with the squeeze on again, Lohr scored and David Fletcher and Tyler Alamo followed with consecutive doubles and suddenly Cypress had a three-run inning.

That inning, and Valenzuela’s save, proved the difference in Cypress’ 4-2 victory over Tustin on Friday in an Empire League game at Tustin High.

The victory kept Cypress undefeated and in first place in the Empire with a 10-0 league record. In second place, one game behind, is Pacifica.

Next week, the final week of the regular season, Pacifica is at Cypress on Tuesday, and Cypress is at Pacifica on Thursday.

“This is what it comes down to, right?” asked Cypress’ Jeff Gogue, who made a major contribution Friday to keeping the Centurions on top. He pitched into the seventh inning to get the victory and improve to 5-2.

Gogue is not Cypress’ No.1 or No. 2 starting pitcher. But he has drawn enough starting assignments since the season started in early March to stay ready for when his number is called.

With Cypress using its Nos. 1 and 2 pitchers, Zach Ortiz and Christian Uchytil, extensively Wednesday in Cypress’ 12-inning, 5-4 victory over Tustin, Gogue was given the ball Friday.

“That’s the beauty about the Saturday (nonleague) games we’ve had on our schedule,” Cypress coach John Weber said. “We don’t have to ask guys with only four innings experience to come in and pitch an important game for us.

"Gogue’s had some repetitions, pitched in the National Classic and has come in against some good teams.”

Tustin played its final Empire League game of the season Friday. With a 6-6 league record, the Tillers are in third place, a half-game ahead of fourth-place Valencia and 3½ games ahead of fifth-place Kennedy.

As the top four teams in the seven-team Empire League receive guaranteed berths into the CIF-Southern Section’s Division 2 playoffs, Tustin will be in the playoffs that begin May 17.

Cypress, 21-6 overall and ranked No. 5 in Orange County and No. 2 (behind Trabuco Hills) in Division 2, scored a run in the second inning when Troy Hennessy singled and went home on a double by Long Beach State-signee Zack Belanger. It was Belanger’s team-high 22nd RBI.

Valenzuela’s nifty save kept alive the three-run fifth inning that featured Lohr’s run-scoring triple, the Valenzula RBI squeeze bunt, and the back-to-back doubles by sophomores Fletcher and Alamo.

Tustin starting pitcher Jesus Meza led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo homer, and he  drove in the Tillers’ other run on a single that sent home Cody Oxby.

In the Olympic League:

Whittier Christian 2, Village Christian (Sun Valley) 0: Sam Sadler pitched a three-hitter for the host Heralds (20-4, 9-1), who clinched the league championship.

In the South Coast League:

No. 4 El Toro 2, San Clemente 1: The host Chargers (22-6, 8-2) ran their winning streak to 11 games behind complete game from pitcher Tyler Brashears, who is 10-1.

In the Sunset League:

No. 1 Edison 1, Los Alamitos 0: Jon Torres pitched a one-hitter for the visiting Chargers (22-2, 12-0).

In the Trinity League:

Santa Margarita 1, St. John Bosco 0: Evan Manarino pitched a one-hitter for the visiting Eagles (7-17, 2-11).