Baseball:
For a school that has an enrollment of just over 500 students, and a program that competes in a league (Olympic) that many people mock, Matt Shupper, his staff and their players continue to battle and excel in a division (2) that most would subjectively agree was too high for the Minutemen.
After claiming a CIF-SS Division 3 championship in 2018, which included MHS winning their final 20 games, the boys from Maranatha have been in Division 2 ever since.
In 2022, Maranatha’s 24 team wins is tops for all SGV area programs, and they went 11-1 en route to claiming yet another Olympic League championship.
After postseason wins over Great Oak, Quartz Hill and Lakewood, the Minutemen find themselves in Tuesday’s CIF-SS Division 2 semifinal contest at Torrance.
MHS has to do all the little things well to compete with the Division 2 powers, and once again, they are.
It’s difficult to write a game preview/comparison when one side (Torrance) doesn’t have full stats, but here goes.
The Tartars (24-5-1) are ranked 29th in the state by MaxPreps and their pitching staff has allowed 80 runs all season.
Torrance, who shared the Pioneer League championship with South Torrance, enters Tuesday’s showdown with playoff wins over Gahr (5-4), Arlington (7-0) and Rancho Cucamonga (5-1).
The THS offense averages nearly seven runs a game, but they entered the postseason on a one-game win streak.
Torrance lost three of their final five regular season (league) games, and they’ve only matched that seven run per game average once in the last five weeks.
Maranatha’s Zach Strickland (1.40 ERA & 76 strikeouts), and Garrett McGuigan (2.00 ERA & 40 strikeouts) are both ready to get the ball from MHS coach, Matt Shupper.
Offensively, the Minutemen are led by Adrian Lopez (.475), Dylan Zdunek (.355), Mikey Ebner (.412) and Nick Cook (.381).
Zdunek leads MHS with 31 hits and Cook has 20.
But Maranatha needed and got production throughout its lineup, including Isaac Ton, Angelo Aleman, Cider Canon, Bryan Richman, Cam Andrews, Donovan Gonsal and so many others.
Part of what makes this program successful, especially in going head-to-head against the best, is the family-like atmosphere that Shupper and his staff have fostered for the better part of a decade.
And this 2022 version is no different.
The MHS-THS winner will face off for the Division 2 championship this coming weekend against the Etiwanda-Palos Verdes victor.
Both semifinal games will take place just under nine miles from the other.
Quotable:
Maranatha coach, Matt Shupper: “Torrance is a really well-coached team, they play great defense and keep hitters off balance with a great mix of offspeed pitches. We feel very prepared to play them after a great game at Lakewood (on Friday). Our team is hitting really well, which is something that started on our trip to San Luis Obispo. They came together and really started to gel. Our pitching and defense has been our strongest asset all year, and with our hitting being on fire in the playoffs, we feel we can play with anyone.”
By the Numbers:
Records: M (24-7); T (24-5-1)
Runs Scored: M (217); T (194)
Runs Allowed: M (80); T (80)
Playoff Runs Scored: M (22); T (17)
Playoff Runs Allowed: M (11); T (5)
League Record: M (11-1); T (7-3)
League Finish: M (Olympic champs); T (Pioneer co-champs)
Current Win Streak: M (6); T (4)
Torrance’s Home Record: (12-2)
Maranatha’s Road Record: 11-4
MaxPreps State Ranking: M (83); T (29)
Maranatha Playoff Schedule/results:
5/5: Maranatha 8, Great Oak 2
5/10: Maranatha 4, Quartz Hill 2
5/13: Maranatha 10, Lakewood 7
5/17: Maranatha at Torrance
Torrance Playoff Schedule/results:
5/5: Torrance 5, Gahr 4
5/10: Torrance 7, Arlington 0
5/13: Torrance 5, Rancho Cucamonga 1
5/17: Maranatha at Torrance
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