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Mater Dei's Moore blanks No. 1 Orange Lutheran
High school baseball.
They are right next to each other in the standings, the county rankings, the state rankings and even in the national rankings.
So it figured Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran would play a tight baseball game, a game in which the team that made the fewest mistakes would win.
That's what happened Wednesday at Hart Park in Orange. Mater Dei took advantage of a couple of Orange Lutheran errors and the Monarchs' Ty Moore turned in a terrific pitching performance to beat the Lancers, 1-0, in the Trinity League game.
Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran are tied for first with 9-1 league records. Orange Lutheran beat Mater Dei, 6-4, in a league game at Mater Dei last month. The teams meet for the final time this regular season at Mater Dei on Friday at 6 p.m.
Moore, a senior right-hander who signed with UCLA and was last season's Orange County player of the year, pitched a four-hitter, struck out six with no walks. He is 8-1, and went into the game with a 0.40 ERA.
"I was able to establish my changeup early in counts, and that helped my fastball," Moore said.
The Monarchs are ranked No. 2 in the county behind Orange Lutheran. Mater Dei is No. 1 in the state rankings, where Orange Lutheran is No. 4. In the national rankings, Mater Dei is No. 4 and Orange Lutheran is No. 11.
Mater Dei scored in the sixth inning. Lutheran pitcher Art Vidrio, who pitched nearly as well as Moore, with one out fielded a ground ball by Moore but threw over the head of Lancers first baseman Tommy Bell, and Moore advanced to second base. Vidrio tried to pick off Moore at second, but that throw went into center field and Moore moved to third base.
Monarchs catcher Jeremy Martinez hit a hard ground ball that Lancers third baseman Josh Morgan could not handle, and Moore scored.
In the Century League:
El Modena 8, No. 4 Esperanza 3: Chris Zamora homered and drove in four runs for the host Vanguards (13-8, 7-5).
In the Empire League:
No. 6 Cypress 8, Western 0: Travis Buziecki hit a two-run home run for the host Centurions (20-5, 7-1).
In the Sea View League:
Trabuco Hills 7, San Juan Hills 3: Steven Garland had three hits and drove in a run for the visiting Mustangs (12-9, 6-3).
Mission Viejo 5, Laguna Hills 4: The Diablos (11-12, 5-2) were led by John Balliet's home run and two RBIs at home.
In the South Coast League:
San Clemente 5, No. 10 Tesoro 2: Trevor Sealy homered and drove in three runs for the host Tritons (13-9, 3-4).
In the Sunset League:
No. 9 Los Alamitos 10, Newport Harbor 1: Cody Marshall was 3 for 4 with two RBIs for the host Griffins (13-6, 7-3).
