Intensity level crescendoes for Orange Lutheran-St. John Bosco baseball series
It was Brady Murrietta’s silence around the bases and then his Darth Vader gaze directed at St. John Bosco pitcher Jack Champlin after he touched third base Thursday and ran slowly toward home plate that sent a clear message: Don’t poke the bear.
His two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning broke a 3-3 tie and clinched a 5-4 victory to prevent the No. 1-ranked Lancers from suffering a three-game Trinity League sweep by No. 2 St. John Bosco.
A day earlier, the level of intensity between the two teams had reached such a crescendo that after the fiery Champlin took the final in a 4-1 victory at Hart Park, he decided to have a laugh.
“I could hear them all playing third base,” Champlin said. “I pointed to the ground and said, ‘This is my field.’ A group came running out of the dugout towards me and it got bigger than it needed to be.
There was pushing and shoving as St. John Bosco set up nuclear security for Thursday’s home game, so much so that a security official refused to let a 5-foot-4 sports reporter into the Orange Lutheran bullpen after the game until calmer heads prevailed.
St. John Bosco’s Jack Champlin is excited after a two-run triple Thursday against Orange Lutheran.
(Nick Koza)
Both teams refused to shake hands as a precaution. It was almost comical, since Orange Lutheran pitcher Gary Morse has been playing with St. John Bosco pitcher Julian Garcia since he was 8 years old and texted him Thursday morning to congratulate him on his pitching performance Wednesday. And Murrietta also planned to text her friends about the Braves.
“It was more to get my boys excited,” Murrietta said of watching Champlin.
Wednesday’s game was particularly important with each team’s ace on the mound. The 6-foot-8 Morse hit a 95 mph fastball and allowed two hits and one run with eight strikeouts in six innings. Garcia, who missed his junior season after arm surgery, hit 97 mph while striking out 10 and allowing three hits in six innings. The Braves broke a 1-1 tie with three runs in the seventh inning, thanks to a two-run single by James Clark.
On Tuesday in St. John Bosco’s 7-4 win, Clark had another big game with two hits and three RBIs.
“The two best teams in the country,” Morse said.
Orange Lutheran (8-3, 1-2) was coming off a championship at the National High School Invitational in North Carolina. He showed excellent pitching to join Morse in Cooper Sides, a senior transfer from Red Buff who struck out eight in five innings Thursday in front of dozens of professional scouts.
When asked what he learned this week about his 11-3 Division 1 championship team, St. John Bosco coach Andy Rojo said, “I think it continues what we already know, which is that it’s a tough team, a resilient team. We had a lot of high-pressure, high-level games. A ton of one-point games.”
Garcia said: “It pushed us to show that we are a great team.”
Orange Lutheran coach RJ Farrell has seen his team struggle through adversity, and in Texas-bound Murrietta, he has an MVP candidate capable of igniting the Lancers with his bat, gloves and leadership skills.
The two teams could meet again next week at the Boras Classic in Orange County. Otherwise, it would happen during a new Southern Section Division 1 playoff format that would have 16 teams and start with a best-of-two-of-three series to advance. Both teams showed that they had the necessary skills to advance.
