Lightning’s Shockley zaps Eagles

Rick Devereux

A matter of inches is all that separated the Sage Hill School

baseball team from either its ninth straight win and a tie for second

in the Academy League with Capistrano Valley Christian or an end to

an eight-game win streak and being locked in as the No. 3 team in the

league.

Sophomore Zack Shockley hit a double inches inside the right-field

foul line that scored Matt Loper for the winning run in the seventh

inning to lift the Lightning to a 5-4 home win and a chance to grab

sole possession of second place when they travel to Capistrano Valley

Thursday.

“This was huge because if we win Thursday as well then we clinch

second place over this team who we really want to beat,” Loper said.

“This was definitely one of the bigger games of the year.”

Sage Hill had a 4-1 lead going into the seventh inning, but the

Eagles scored three runs off of three hits and an error to set up

Shockley’s heroics. The Lightning took an early lead in the first

when Jordan Salinger scored off of a single by Loper. After Capo

Valley tied it in the third, Salinger knocked in Zach Milder in the

fifth inning and later scored on a Shockley sacrifice fly to center.

Milder gave Sage Hill a 4-1 advantage the next inning, hitting a

scoring fly ball to left, which that plated Braden Ross.

Sage Hill, 13-7 and 10-4 in league play, have won nine consecutive

games, last losing April 14 to Murrieta Calvary Chapel, 6-5.

“This is our best record ever,” Salinger said. “We’ve never won 10

games in league before. This win keeps us alive. It gives us a chance

to finish second, which is unbelievable.”

Sage Hill pitcher Tim Wilkins worked the strike zone to

perfection, striking out three batters and inducing nine groundouts.

A seemingly widening strike zone worked in the Lightning’s favor when

Shockley came up to bat in the seventh when he dropped an outside

curve down the right-field line for the win.

“The blue wasn’t calling the outside pitches at the beginning of

the game but as the game went on, he started to,” Shockley said. “I

knew [the pitch] was going to be outside because [Capo Valley pitcher

Chris Mitchell] was getting some strikes out there.”

*--*

Academy League

Sage Hill 5, Capistrano Valley Christian 4

Score by Innings

Cap 001 000 3 -- 4 8 2

Sage Hill 100 021 1 -- 5 8 4

Mitchell and Ward; Wilkins and B.

Kornsweit. W -- Wilkins, 5-1. L -- 5-4. 2B

-- Ward (CV), Mitchell (CV), Hanten (CV),

Shockley (SH).

*--*