Matzek's two blasts lead Capo Valley into semifinals

MISSION VIEJO - An all-around dominant hitting and pitching performance lifted Capistrano Valley to an 11-0 victory over Marina on Friday, advancing the Cougars to the CIF Division I baseball semifinals.

Capo Valley's Tyler Matzek led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to left field, breaking up a scoreless game. But, more important, it ignited the Cougars' (23-6) bats to a six-run inning.

While Matzek's homer began the inning, Capistrano Valley coach Bob Zamora credited the rally to Charles Pfirrmann for keeping the fourth inning alive with two outs after fouling off several tough pitches.

It was only 2-0 before Pfirrmann's two-out RBI single, which eventually led to six total runs in the fourth.

Two innings later, Matzek's second homer of the game — a three-run shot to left field — concluded the onslaught, solidifying it as a 11-0 blowout on a misty afternoon.

"This game was just a real tight ballgame at that point," Zamora said. "Charles was hanging on by a thread there. He fouled off some really great pitches just to stay alive and keep that inning going.

"Hitting is contagious. We don't hit the ball all that well, but I tell you that at-bat right there was key to keeping that inning going."

On the mound, Capo Valley received a quality outing from No. 2 pitcher Kevin Chambers, who wasn't supposed to pitch.

Without informing Chambers, Zamora changed the starting lineup so his ace, Matzek, could pitch in the second round against Orange Lutheran.

Chambers pitched seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts. He retired the first nine batters in order and only allowed three hits.

"He said, 'That's OK coach, I know what you're doing,'" Zamora said. "He showed me a lot."

Added Chambers: "My first instinct was, 'Hey wait a second.' He called me later that night and apologized, but I understood why he did it."

Contact the writer: broy@ocregister.com