Sage just shy against tourney favorite, 5-4

NEWPORT COAST — With Sage Hill School already down three runs, reliever Brendan Chambers tried to deliver the knockout and close out the game.

Three fastballs definitely knocked batters off the plate, as the Saddleback Valley Christian right-hander plunked three batters in the top of the seventh inning.

Before Chambers hit his third batter and loaded the bases, Coach Jim Romero walked to the mound.

Romero asked his junior, “What are you doing to us?”

“I’m just making it interesting,” Chambers told Romero.

Chambers definitely did. He allowed two runs before striking out his second batter of the inning, picking up the save and getting out of a mess, as the Warriors held on for a 5-4 victory in the Sage Hill Classic opener Thursday.

“He got into a little trouble there,” said Romero of Chambers, who in 1 2/3 innings struck out three batters, walked one and allowed no hits. “But he came out and basically shut down the door when he had to.”

Chambers has come through often for the Warriors (10-1), ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division VII.

Mostly as a starter, as Chambers is 5-0, but he helped starter Andrew Haro (4-0) remain unbeaten as well as Saddleback Valley Christian in its last seven games.

The defending section champ from San Juan Capistrano is the favorite to win the three-day, four-team tournament.

Romero said it’s been three years since the last time his team played in the tournament, which this year features two other competitive clubs in Capistrano Valley Christian, the Academy League leader, and Windward of Los Angeles, ranked seventh in Division VI.

Facing quality teams Coach Mark Talmo said will only make the young Lightning (4-6) better when they resume Academy League play on April 10.

“Playing some better ball now. We haven’t been making so many errors,” said the first-year Lightning coach, who saw his team commit two errors Thursday. “Just making nervous errors. We’re kind of getting the bugs out. Right now we’re just starting to come into our own.

“We’re going to be really looking good for the stretch run.”

For that to transpire the Lightning, who are in third place in league at 3-3, will need to start winning. They’ve dropped five of their last six games, allowing eight or more runs in four of those games.

Starter Mason Sayer (0-1) kept the hot-hitting Warriors, who came into Thursday averaging 13 runs per game, at bay for four innings. He allowed two earned runs and seven hits before reliever Travis Duncan entered in the fifth.

The defensive play of third baseman Sean Vogel got Duncan out of a jam right away. Duncan gave up three consecutive hits, an infield single, a ground-rule double and a one-run single.

After a runner appeared to steal third base with a headfirst slide, Vogel kept his glove on the runner’s right leg. The move worked as the runner slid past the bag, and the umpire called him out after seeing Vogel stay with the play.

Two pitches later, Duncan induced a ground ball to third, and Vogel kept the runner at second before throwing out the runner at first.

Then came the best defensive play of the game.

On a slow roller toward the third-base line, Vogel barehanded the ball and threw to first, getting the runner out by a couple of inches.

So instead of the Warriors delivering the knockout with a big inning, Vogel kept the Lightning in striking distance. Not bad for a freshman Talmo teases, calling him an 8-year-old for looking so young.

“He’s making big plays,” said Talmo, whose team plays Windward today at 3 p.m.

The opportunities to make more big plays were there for Sage Hill in the top of the seventh against a rocky Chambers.

Chambers fanned the first batter he faced on four pitches, but he beaned the next one, walked the following, and beaned two back-to-back, cutting Saddleback Valley Christian’s lead, 5-3.

When Chambers’ defense couldn’t turn a double play to end the game, the Lightning scored again and trailed by one run. After the first pitch went for a strike, Sage Hill had runners on second and third.

But two more pitches is all Chambers needed to escape the cumbersome situation. Two swings and Chambers stood strong at the end.

Nothing was going to knock him off the mound.

Sage Hill Classic

Saddleback Valley Christian 5,

Sage Hill 4

Score by Innings

Sage Hill 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 - 4 6 2 SVC 1 0 1 2 1 0 x - 5 11 1

Sayer, Duncan (5) and Jackson; Haro, Chambers (6) and Canavo. W -- Haro, 4-0. L -- Saro, 0-1. 2B -- Chambers (SVC) 2, Romero (SVC), Scheibel (SVC).