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Sports

Mission Viejo's Bats Blast Santa Barbara, 11-6, in Anaheim Lions Tournament

Diablos' offense getting red hot with 14 hits in victory over top-ranked team in Division 2 during Anaheim Lions Tournament play.

The annual Anaheim Lions Tournament has been rather beneficial to Mission Viejo's baseball program over the past few seasons. Although they won't repeat their 2009 tournament-winning run, the Diablos don’t seem phased by the elite talent that surrounded them in the bracket.

Mission Viejo vanquished Santa Barbara, 11-6, on Tuesday afternoon at Amerige Park in Fullerton. The Diablos collected 14 hits against the Dons, who are currently the top-ranked Division 2 team in the CIF Southern Section coaches’ poll.

Preseason hype and lofty expectations surrounded Mission Viejo entering the spring, which began with a 1-3 start. Don’t look now, but the Diablos (10-4) are beginning to really look the part of a title contender.

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The one-sided victory, which entered the seventh inning with Mission Viejo ahead 11-3, is the team’s sixth consecutive win and pushed its overall Anaheim Lions Tournament record to 14-0 since ‘09. The 37th edition of the tournament features 58 high school programs from three states, including four teams from Utah and a club from Colorado.

“This tournament is filled with quality teams,” Mission Viejo coach Chris Ashbach said. “We’ve gotten a lot of playing time and picked up our hitting. The pitching has been stretched a bit because of all the innings, but its been great and should certainly help in the long run.”

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A bumpy beginning to the season wasn’t helped by a weather-induced, 12-day lull,, which ended with a Sea View League-opening home loss to Aliso Niguel. But the Diablos have now played seven games in a span of eight days and appear to be hitting their stride, with three consecutive double-digit offensive outputs.

“Everyone is taking turns producing at the plate,” Ashbach said. “Our depth is starting to show through and make us better. Most importantly, the top of the order is consistently doing a great job setting the table.”

That was once again the case against Santa Barbara (10-4), as the top half of the order keyed a game filled with "small ball." Leadoff hitter Austin Saenz stroked two doubles to each side of the outfield and reached base four times, scoring twice and driving in two other runs.

The senior standout, who is committed to Cal State Fullerton, was well protected by fellow outfielder Boog Powell. Hitting second, Powell hustled for infield hits in each of his first two at-bats.

He reached safely for the first of 11 Mission Viejo singles by beating out a throw from Dons second baseman Spencer Fraker. Powell quickly advanced to third base on a Ryan Raslowsky double to center-field before scoring the contest’s first run when Santa Barbara shortstop Lucas Benenati misplayed a groundball off the bat of Diablos outfielder Jake Kuluris. First baseman Mitch Holland then picked up the first of his two RBIs with a ground out to the pitcher.

Mission Viejo pushed the lead to 4-0 in the second when Kuluris slapped a single into left field, sending Powell home once again. The Diablos swiped three bags in the first two innings, setting the tone for an active day on the basepaths. Raslowsky and senior Parker Anderson each stole two bases, combining for over half of the team’s seven steals.

“We’ve wanted to move runners all season, but the opportunity hadn’t really presented itself early on,” Ashbach said. “I knew we had good team speed and we were able to use it to our advantage today.”

Mission Viejo’s penchant for aggressive base-running seemed to unnerve Santa Barbara staring pitcher Collin Dewell. The University of Arizona commit struggled out of the stretch, surrendering 11 hits and eight earned runs over his five innings on the mound.

The Diablos made Dewell earn his outs, working four walks against the senior lefty and sending his pitch count soaring quickly. Mission Viejo starter Anthony Shew steadily worked his way through the Dons' lineup, striking out nine while scattering eight hits over six innings.

After Shew allowed the first three batters of the seventh inning to reach base, cutting the lead to 11-5, Ashbach inserted hard-throwing junior Kieran Lovegrove to seal the deal.

Lovegrove limited Santa Barbara to one more run on an infield ground out, before popping up Benenati to end the game.

After riding an eight-game win streak to improve to 10-1, Santa Barbara has suddenly lost three in a row against Orange County competition in the tournament. The Dons fell to Brea Olinda, 8-1, on Saturday and were shut down by Servite ace Cole Irvin, 7-1, on Monday .

Mission Viejo gets a crack at Servite (8-7, 2-3) on Wednesday afternoon at Glover Field in Anaheim, with first pitch scheduled for 4:30. The Friars fell to Palos Verdes, 6-2, in other Tuesday tournament action.

A Diablos win would give the team yet another undefeated swing through the tournament but will not provide a trophy. Like last year, Mission Viejo has surrendered too many runs in its wins to earn a spot in the title game. Runs scored against is the deciding factor in the tournament’s tie-breaker system.

“Championship or not, it’s an opportunity to play five quality opponents,” Ashbach said. “We’re starting to get into a grove and that’s the important thing.”

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