Santa Margarita comes through under pressure

It was a must-win situation for the Santa Margarita baseball team in Friday’s Trinity League game against Orange Lutheran.

A loss would have dropped the Eagles two games behind the Lancers for the third and final playoff spot in the league.

However, thanks to an early offensive outburst and solid pitching, Santa Margarita defeated visiting Orange Lutheran, 9-4 to force a tie for third place with two games remaining, giving the Eagles at least a shot at qualifying for the CIF-SS playoffs.

The top three teams in the Trinity League automatically advance to the playoffs.

“It was do-or-die for us,” Santa Margarita coach Kris Jondle said. “We had to win.”

Santa Margarita (12-13, 7-6) opened the game with four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run from Trayce Thompson and a two-run double from Brandon Potter for a 4-0 lead.

The Eagles then added five runs in the second inning, chasing Orange Lutheran starter Andrew Thurman.

Nick Matranga capped the scoring with a two-run single.

“We jumped on their guy (Thurman) early,” Jondle said. “He pitched well against us the last time (April 1) we faced him. He didn’t look like the same guy (Friday) and we scored enough.”

“We lost a tough one Wednesday night and they could have mailed it in. The kids did a great job coming out today and jumping on (Andrew) Thurman.

The Lancers (16-9, 7-6) scored three runs in the third and one in the fourth to cut the score to 9-4. Dillon Bryant had a two-run double in the third.

Thurman was replaced by Art Vidrio who held the Eagles scoreless for 4 1/3 innings.
Kyle Richter (2-2) pitched four innings to get the victory for Santa Margarita. Jon Bradford pitched a scoreless fifth.

Nick Wagner, who went 2 for 3 with a RBI and two runs scored, made his pitching debut, throwing a scoreless sixth and seventh inning.

He breezed through the sixth, but loaded the bases in the seventh, before ending the game.
Wagner had back surgery in December to repair a ruptured disc.

“It felt good to be out there,” Wagner said. “It got a little interesting in the seventh, but I was able to bear down and focus and got back to basics.”

The season now comes down to next week for both Santa Margarita and Orange Lutheran.

The Eagles will play JSerra Monday and Wednesday, while the Lancers are playing Mater Dei. Both Santa Margarita and Orange Lutheran lost their first games of the season their upcoming opponents.

“We both have some big games ahead of us,” Jondle said.

If the teams are tied after Wednesday, the Lancers own the tiebreaker, having won two of the three games this season.

The Lancers sealed the season series Wednesday night when they won, 3-2.

Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com