Calvary Baseball 2012 Regular Season

     The Lion's had one of the most remarkable seasons any baseball player could ask for. Coming into the season they were almost unheard of, and by the end, teams from all over Southern California know who "Calvary Christian" is. They may have had a historic season last year, but they have plenty of work to do this year. Here are the Lion's 2012 season's highlights...


Won CIF Championship
Ranked 2nd in the State of California (D5)
Finished 15-5 versus higher division schools (D1-D4)
Winning percentage of .600 in both the Pirate-Falcon and North County Tournaments
Won the Lion's Tournament (undefeated)
The pitching staff finished 5th in the nation in strikeouts.
Won league for the second year in a row Undefeated in league play for the second year in a row Undefeated against D-5 opponents Broke a 17 year-old CIF record for triples in a game (7 vs. Ocean View Christian)        1 Cor 10:31 GO LIONS  

Me Pitching for the Rays

Me (Matt Hartman) pitching for the SoCal Tampa Bay Rays Scout Team.

Day 6 of my Dominican Republic Missions trip

On the sixth day of our journey, we woke up to scrambled eggs, French toast, fruit, and juice. We took a longer more relaxed breakfast since that was out sightseeing day. After breakfast, we all showered and got dressed for our exciting day. The plan for the day was to go to the straw market place and buy whatever souvenirs we wanted and then we were going to a village baseball field to play ball with some kids.
We arrived to the marketplace and venders almost instantly started promoting their merchandise. This is where bargaining became very useful! Every time they attempted to sell something, they added about 10+ dollars to how much the item was actually worth! For example, the first item I was interested in was a shark tooth necklace with a leather rope as the chain. The vender told me she couldn't go lower than $20 (obviously over priced). After convincing her I only had $5 to spend on the necklace, she sold it to me for the price I wanted-$5. That was the strategy for everything we bought! Often times we would even get a second item free AFTER we convinced the vender to lower the price! It was a very affective method!
We eventually had our fill of the marketplace and returned home for lunch. After our delicious chicken we headed off a small village to play some baseball! We arrived and all the kids (as usual) swarmed to us "americanos". We quickly implied we were there to play with them. No more than 2 minutes had gone by and each member of our group was playing catch with a boy from the village. We proceeded to have a little pickup game which lasted for 2 hours! Sadly, time came for us to leave again...
We arrived back at the complex about an hour early for dinner so we killed some time on the basketball courts and in the pool. Dinner consisted of chicken, plantains, and rice. As usual it was delicious! We concluded our evening with devotions and we all went to sleep around 11.

Day 5 of my Dominican Republic Missions Trip

July 24:
After my first night where I actually slept well, I woke up to a delicious bacon an eggs breakfast. Immediately after breakfast we got dressed and loaded into the girls orphanage bound bus. When we walked in the gate for the orphanage, each player's hand was immediately grabbed by one, two, and sometimes three little girls. We were all led off to separate parts of the orphanage by Dominican girls ranging from 5-15 years of age. They did everything from singing to us, playing volleyball, and teaching us their special handshakes. It was so awesome being able to be their "big brother" for a few hours. When time came to leave, it was hard to leave, but when we did, all the girls had huge smiles on their faces. We returned to the complex for lunch which consisted of (once again) chicken and rice. We had about an hour of down time which we spent relaxing in the dorm before our game. The game was at the Giants complex where we were staying and was by far the best field we played on. We won 5-2, and after the game,Christian High catcher, AJ Gregorovic, shared his testimony. Once again, we handed out tracts to all the players and fans, and we spent about an hour after the game socializing with the players. Tired from the orphanage and the game, we had one more thing to go to- the SCORE international missionary night. This was basically a gathering for all the groups to come together and have a night of worship. After the service, we had the opportunity to buy souvenirs from some local missionaries. Of course, as any guy would do, I bought a machete. We headed back to the hotel and got a much needed nights sleep.

Day 4 of my Dominican Republic Missions trip

July 23rd:
On the fourth day of our trip, we woke up to cereal, bacon, eggs, fruit, and delicious juice. Once again an outstanding meal. Soon after breakfast we left for our first game which was at the Olympic training park. The game time was scheduled for 10:00, but since it took almost 2 hours to find the field, we started closer to 11. There must have been 100 fields in that park area which were flooded by thousands of baseball players of all ages. Our first game was soon underway and all of us started out extremely nervous. After all, we WERE playing in the baseball capital of the world, and most of those players could start on any varsity team. As I said, we were tight for the first couple innings, but eventually we scored a few runs. Then a couple more. Before we knew it, we were up 11-7. In the last inning I was called on to close. The Dominican team posted a late rally scoring 1 run on a deep no out triple to center, but they failed to score, leaving two runners in scoring position. We were now 1-0 in the DR. After the game, we handed out tracts to all the fans and players, and Calvary Vista 2012 Graduate, Sam Hebert gave his testimony to everyone. Sam finished his testimony and the players from both sides socialized for a while. This is where I met 16 year old shortstop, Kendry Abreu (he spoke almost perfect English!!). He is a very good shortstop who was born in the DR and had a short stay in Manhattan, New York before returning to the DR where he currently lives. It was cool to meet someone from another country who loves the game as much as I do, and to be able to share Christ with him was just awesome! Sadly, the time and to head back to the complex for lunch. We returned to fried chicken, dirty rice, and salad. After lunch we headed off to a local sugar cane village in Santo Domingo. We arrived and were greeted by hundreds of children, all asking for candy and toys (luckily we brought plenty of those!). I handed out a piece of candy to one kid, then another, and another, and before I could save myself, hundreds of kids were jumping on me begging for candy! They were pulling my shorts down, climbing on me, pulling my hair, poking me, and of course, yelling at me in Spanish. I was lucky to get out alive! We handed out whiffle balls and played catch with the local kids. The 9 year old I was playing catch with probably threw harder than most 13 year olds here in the U.S.! After a few hours, we had to leave so we could get back to the complex in time for dinner. We had some delicious spaghetti and salad for dinner along with some wafer cookies. We went over the very long day in our devotions and then went to bed at 11:00 local DR time.

Day 3 of my Dominican Republic Missions trip

July 22nd:
On our first full day in the Dominican Republic, we woke up to a traditional cereal and toast breakfast sided with fruit and orange juice. After quickly devouring our breakfast, we loaded into our bus, and headed off to church in Santo Domingo. We were special guests (as announced by the pastor) even though the whole service was in Spanish. Luckily, we had a translator device so we could understand. The church service was just like any normal service. We sang a few song, the pastor gave his message, we sang a couple more songs, then we were done. After church, we headed back to the complex for lunch. At lunch, we had our first taste of the food we were going to be having the rest of the week. We were treated to mouth watering grilled chicken prices with rice and a salad. Soon after lunch, all of us jumped into the bus and went to the beach. Before we went to the beach, we were strictly told "ignore the venders, if you show any interest in what they have, they will not go away!". I though "that can't be too hard"! Well, I was wrong. No more than 30 seconds after we set foot on the sand, a vender walked up to Kiegan Basso and started trying to sell him a bracelet. Wondering what Kiegan was up to, I quickly went over to see what he was looking at - bad idea. The vender grabbed my wrist and strapped a bracelet on. He said "$15 for bracelet." and he wouldn't listen when I told him "no". He kept pushing the sale until my dad walked over, sternly said "we are not interested, NO!". For about 5 minutes, all that came out of his mouth was "my friend! Wow! Me 19! Trying to make living here! Buy something!". He eventually got the idea that we weren't going to purchase anything so he left. We FINALLY went into the water, only to find out that it was unpleasantly warm (about 90 degrees) and for whatever reason, caused everyone to itch. We decided that the beach was overrated, so we went back to the complex and went swimming for a couple hours before dinner. Dinner was deep fried chicken with dirty rice, a salad, and the delicious juice/nectar (which was served with every meal). After dinner we had our nightly devotions and went to bed exhausted, after our first full day.

Day 2 of my Dominican Republic Baseball Missions trip (July 21st)

July 21st:
The second day arrived slower than first anticipated. The lack of sleep on the red-eye flight made the 5 hour flight seem like a 12 hour flight, but finally, after what seemed to be a marathon, we landed in Philadelphia. We filled our growling stomachs with the closest food, which happened to be McDonalds. With an Egg McMuffin down, we had about 2:30 hours of free time before our flight to the DR. I spent it shopping around with AJ, Gordy, and Stephen. We walked about a 1/2 mile but eventually found the store I was looking for - Lidz. I bought a camo Yankees hat and a Yankees BP hat. The time had finally come for us to board the plane bound for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Once we were situated in our seats, the pilot declared over the PA system "We are having some maintenance issues but we should be ready to fly here shortly". Hearing the news, I dozed off for about 45 minutes, only to be woken up by "attention all passengers! This plane is out of commission, please make your way to gate 11B for the new plane. Set to take off in 15 minutes." A hop, a skip, and a jump, and we were on our plane headed to the DR. The flight included some beautiful views of the Bahamas and the Florida keys. We landed in Santo Domingo at 4PM local time. The incredibly humid air was stunning at first, and it felt like you could drink the air. The airport was not air conditioned, so the outside temperature strongly resembled the inside temperature. After grabbing our baggage and somehow finding our way through customs, we loaded all our gear into a van, and we got into a bus which was headed for our destination - the highlands complex. The bus ride to the complex may have been the scariest bus ride ever imaginable. Cars were driving the wrong way, motorcycles we being wrecklessly ridden by helmetless drivers and passengers, there was no stopping for intersections, you honked and hoped it was clear, and the amount of pedestrians was amazing. We survived the bus ride. I don't know how, but we did. We arrived at the Rawlings Highlands complex at 4:30 PM local time. We had enough time to drop off our gear then we went out for some yummy pizza. We were treated to delicious, unleavened bread pizza (arguably the best pizza I have ever had). The group was conversing when a couple guys came up and started singing for us! I believe they sang 3 songs for us, and for a guitar, bongos, and a lead vocal, they were pretty good! Completely exhausted from a full day of travel, we returned to the complex, did a short devotion as a group, and FINALLY went to bed....

Day 1 of my Dominican Republic Missions Trip (July 20th)

July 20th:

On the first day of our journey, all members of the Dominican Republic baseball team met at Christian High School for a one hour orientation. During the orientation, we introduced our prayer partners, watched a cultural video, reviewed a few important verses (Romans 3:23, John 3:16, and a few others), ate lunch, and received all our gear for the trip. At about 12:30 when the orientation was done, all of us headed out to the baseball field for a short, laid back practice. We took infield, batting practice, and had a short infers quad scrimmage. The practice was used mainly for coaches to see where they were going to position the players on the trip, but it also served as a great opportunity in getting the know each of the players better. After the practice was over, the team headed over to Coach Mike Mitchell's house for swimming, basketball, and dinner. It was there that I got to know all the players. The team consisted of Trip Leader Paul Berry, Coach Troy Norling, Coach Zac Nixon, Coach Fred Hartman, Coach Mason Martin, Coach Daryl Hebert, Head Coach Mike Mitchell, Kiegan Basso, Michael Horne, Sam Gershow, Joe Ross, Tyler Leslie, Stephen Johnston, AJ Gregorovic, Anthony Martin, Alex Nurding, Gordon Nixon, and myself - Matt Hartman. After some quality pool time, team bonding, and some delicious pizza, we headed off to the airport for our 10:10 PM flight to Philadelphia. A couple of long lines later, we found ourselves in the air on a red-eye flight to Philadelphia. The long 5 hour flight may have been at night, but many players/ coaches weren't able to sleep on the plane, which set the stage for an incredibly long second day......

Dominican Republic Baseball Missions Trip

    I have been invited by SCORE International to travel to the Dominican Republic on a baseball missions trip.  The purpose of this trip is to use the abilities God has blessed me with to bless others.  A few of my teammates from Calvary Christian Vista baseball and I will be traveling to the Dominican Republic on July 21, 2012, to spread the Gospel to many people in need of Christ.  We will be playing baseball against local Dominican Republic teams as well as visiting children from an orphanage, witnessing to people in a sugarcane village, and bringing food to a local village.  We will return July 28, 2012.
   
    I am very excited about being a part of this missions team. In order to make this trip a reality, I need sponsors to give financial assistance.  I am asking you to join other relatives and friends to consider sponsoring this missions trip.

SCORE International, Inc. is a recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit religious foundation.

    Your prayerful consideration of support is very much appreciated.  Above all, pray for God to use me as a true role model and to share the love of Christ on this mission’s endeavor.

For His Glory,
Matthew Hartman

Ways to donate:


1. ONLINE: Go to our the SCORE International website: www.scoreintl.org/donate/traveler. Make sure you include the name of the traveler in the description.  MasterCard or Visa accepted.

2. BY PHONE: Call the SCORE International office at: 423-894-7111.  The SCORE International secretary will be able to take your credit card information over the phone.

Dominican Republic Baseball Missions Trip

Next week I will be going to the Dominican Republic on a baseball missions trip provided SCORE International. The players are from Christian High School baseball and Calvary Christian Vista baseball. It should be a really fun experience! I can't wait! Here is our schedule...

SCHEDULE FOR WEST COAST BASEBALL
 July 21- July 28, 2012


Sat       21         - Arrive at 1:30pm
                     Travel to Highlands Complex Room Assignments and
                           Orientation, Practice, eat , devotions.
                         
              
Sun       22      -    Breakfast 7:30AM @ Highlands Complex
                Leave 8:30 AM for Church Service
                Attend Dominican Church Service from 9:30AM – 11:00AM
                           Lunch 12:30 PM @ Highlands Complex
               Afternoon Free Time @ Highlands Complex (Pool, Beach, etc.)
                 Dinner 6:00 PM @ Highlands Complex
               Devotions after Dinner (On Your Own)

Mon        23     -    Breakfast 7:15 AM @ Highlands Complex
                Leave 8:00AM for Santo Domingo (Olimpic Center)
                Baseball Game 9:30 AM vs Nicasio’s Team
                               Lunch upon return to Highlands Complex
                Leave 3:00 PM for for Sugarcane Village
                Visit and play games with children
                Dinner 6:30 PM @ Highlands Complex
                Devotions after Dinner (On Your Own)
                           
Tue        24     - Breakfast 7:30AM @ Highlands Complex
                Leave 8:30AM for La Romana Orphanage
                           Visit and play games with Girls
                 Lunch 12:30PM @ Highlands Complex
                           Game @ Highlands Complex
                           Baseball Game 2:00 PM vs Local Team
                Dinner 6:00 PM @ Highlands Complex
                           Leave 7:00 PM for SCORE MTC
                Devotions 7:30 PM @ SCORE MTC “Missionaries Night”

Wed            25   - Breakfast 7:30AM @ Highlands Complex
                Leave 8:30 AM for Quisqueya -Emanuel House           
                           Lunch 12:30PM @ Highlands Complex
                Leave 1:30 PM for San Pedro
                           Basball Game 2:30 PM vs Frank’s Team
                Dinner upon return to Highlands Complex
                           Devotions after Dinner (On Your Own)


Thu    26         -    Breakfast 7:30 AM @ Highlands Complex
                           Leave 8:30 AM for Los Santana Village
                           Baseball Game 9:30 AM vs Los Santana’s Team
                Packed Lunch from  Highlands Complex
                Afternoon Ministry @ Los Santana
                           Play w/ children, paint, etc…
                Dinner 6:00 PM @ Highlands Complex
                           Leave 7:00 PM for SCORE MTC
                Devotions 7:30 PM @ SCORE MTC “Missionaries Night”

Fri    27           -Breakfast 8:00AM @ Highlands Complex
                      Leave 9:00AM for Santo Domingo
                           Shopping & Sightseeing at the Old City
                Lunch 12:30 PM @ Highlands Complex
                           Leave 2:00 PM for San Pedro
                           Baseball Game 3:00 PM vs  July Team
                           Dinner 6:30 PM @ Highlands Complex
                           Devotions after dinner on your own

Sat   28           -Load Luggage on Truck @ 11:30AM
                         Breakfast, Lunch, Final Devo’s
                         Leave AM for airport 12:15
                         Depart 2:30pm- San Diego arrival-11:09pm

Me Hitting

Me hitting at Coach Sullivan's house...That is a 35 inch bat that weighs somewhere between 35-40 ounces (I'm thinking closer to 40)!

Calvary vs. The Rock Academy D-5 CIF Championship

                  CIF CHAMPIONS !!!!
The Calvary Christian Lions brought home the school's first-ever CIF section title with a solid 8-4 win over the Rock Academy Warriors on Friday in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Eastlake High School.

Even though CIF scheduled the game an hour's drive from campus, the trip was well worth it for all as #1 seed Calvary jumped into a commanding 4 run lead but the tenacious Rock players battled back to get within one run before the Lion's extended their lead and put the game away.

Senior ace Russell Harmening got the nod on the mound and perhaps came into the game a little too pumped up when his first pitch of the day struck the Warrior leadoff hitter. After bunting the runner to second, SDSU-bound junior Andy Brown lofted a soft single to center easily scoring the runner and giving the Rock a quick 1-0 lead. Brown advanced into scoring position but Harmening stepped up and struck out the next two hitters to extinguish the threat.

Calvary had a golden opportunity to jump back in the game when Rock starter Hudson Pearson had trouble settling in and walked the first two Calvary hitters but the Lions were unable to capitalize and two strikeouts and a groundout kept the score 1-0.

The Rock threatened by mounting a two-out rally in the top of the second but failed to score. Calvary answered right back with a two-out rally of their own. Connor Kollenda and David Flores drew consecutive walks and sophomore leadoff hitter David Carpenter tied the game at 1 apiece with a sharp line single to left. Kollenda barely snuck under the tag at the plate reaching past the catcher to score the tying run. Sam Sheehan followed with a bouncer to third that was mishandled by the thirdbaseman to load the bases. Sophomore Matt Hartman made them pay for the miscue when he fought off a two strike pitch and dunked a ball to right scoring Flores and Carpenter to give Calvary a 3-1 edge. Harmening then helped his own cause by lining a deep drive off the center field fence that cleared the bases and gave the Lions a solid 5-1 lead.

Normally, a 4-run lead is money in the bank for Harmening who has a career 1.84 ERA over the past 3 seasons. The Rock however, had other intentions. They answered right back when Brown hit a soft bouncer just out of Harmening's reach and reached base with a one out infield single.
The Rock is an extremely aggressive baserunning team and Calvary was prepared for it, but they failed to play what they practiced when Brown attempted a quick steal of second. Harmening stepped off and had the runner easily but the rushed throw to second was wide and he advanced on the error. Harmening momentarily regained his composure by striking out the next hitter for the second out. Brown, who finished the season with 30 stolen bases, then took advantage of a high leg kick and easily stole third. A rare lapse in control however by Harmening walked Michael Martinez, a hitter he struck out on 3 pitches his previous at-bat, putting runners on 1st and 3rd. James L'Esperance then delivered big for the Warriors as he launched a home run deep over the left field wall to tighten the score at 5-4 and a pumped-up Rock team was back in the game.

The Rock may be tenacious, but Calvary is too as they answered right back when Isaac Conover drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved to third on a Kollenda single and scored on a Flores groundout to give the Lions a bit of breathing room at 6-4.

From the point on, Harmening was determined to lead his team victory allowing only one baserunner, an infield hit, for the remainder of the game. After the 4th inning, Harmening came into the bench and told his coaches that "Finally, I am pitching - not just throwing".

Sam Sheehan extended Calvary's lead by another run when he blasted a solo-shot over the center field wall to lead off the 4th inning. It was his third home run of the year.

They added their 8th run in their last at bat when consecutive singles by Carpenter, Sheehan and Hartman accounted for their final run.

The game was not without incident however when a scary moment occurred in 6th inning when a Rock hitter hit a short popup in foul territory on the first base side. Harmening ran over to catch the ball, but the Rock hitter, running on the foul ball, laid out Harmening who hit the ground. The batter was called out on interference but what originally appeared to be a serious injury, ended up with Harmening having the breath knocked out of him.

Afterward, Harmening said the pain moved from his arm to his chest and he cruised through the remainder of the game. He picked up his 10th victory of the year, allowing 6 hits, 1 walk and striking out 12 to cap off a stellar high school career.

The title was Calvary's first, in any sport, in the school's 20+ year history. The Lions finished the season with a 28-5 record with an undefeated league championship and Lion's Tournament and CIF Championship trophies in hand.

PREP BASEBALL: Vista Calvary Christian wins first baseball title

http://www.nctimes.com/sports/high-school/nct/baseball/prep-baseball-vista-calvary-christian-wins-first-baseball-title/article_19b98fd3-22ab-5da7-92ac-5673631223e5.html

Calvary vs. Horizon 5/29/12 CIF D-5 Play-offs Semifinal Game

                                    Calvary Comeback Earns Spot in CIF Finals!
The Calvary Christian Lions advanced to the CIF finals in dramatic fashion, overcoming a 5-0 deficit to beat Horizon 7-6 in the CIF semi-finals.

Caleb Whitley was the offensive hero of the day with three clutch RBI singles, including the game winner in the bottom of the 6th inning.

Calvary's starting pitching has been tremendous, putting up a 0.89 ERA in the month of May. That was not the case however as David Carpenter struggled allowing 5 runs before recording the first out of the game. Horizon pounded out 5 hits to go with 2 walks and a wild pitch before a blown squeeze bunt attempt cleared the bases and allowed Calvary to get out of the inning.

Down 5-0, the Lions had an extremely difficult task to overcome. In the second inning, Carpenter finally settled in and threw a scoreless frame setting the stage for the comeback. In the bottom of the inning, Russell Harmening got things rolling when he lead off with a line single up the middle. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored when Whitley banged a single to left. Seniors Connor Kollenda and Sam Hebert each singled and the second run scored when David Flores hit a lazy fly ball to right that was dropped for an error. Carpenter helped out his cause by singling in another to cut the score to 5-3.

Calvary could have tied the game at 5-5 had they not made two costly base running errors. A runner was thrown out trying to advance to third when down by 5 runs and the potential tying run did not advance into scoring position on a throw to the plate. In all, Calvary's unusually poor baserunning cost them 3 runs over the course of the game and made their comeback attempt much more difficult than it should have been.

The Lions gave back a run in the top of 3rd when 2 errors led to a run giving Horizon a 6-3 lead.

Calvary battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the 4th inning when Sam Hebert lead off the inning by doubling into the right field corner. Kallin Iwasaki, pinch running for Hebert, scored for the fifth straight game when Flores doubled him in. With two outs, Matt Hartman hit a dribbler that he beat out for an infield single putting runners on first and third. An errant pickoff throw to first scored Flores and moved Hartman to second putting Calvary within one. Horizon elected to intentionally walk the red-hot hitting Harmening to put runners on 1st and 2nd, but Whitley made them pay for their decision as he tied the game by lining the first pitch he saw to deep right center to tie the game at 6-6.

Senior Isaac Conover relieved Carpenter and threw a scoreless 5th inning to keep Calvary in the game. They threatened to score in the bottom of the inning but stranded a man in scoring position.

Hard throwing Sam Sheehan relieved Conover and struck out the side in the top of the sixth keeping the score knotted at 6 all.

Sheehan then led off the bottom of the sixth by nearly undressing the pitcher with a line shot up the middle. The ball was hit so hard the centerfielder charged and attempted to throw Sheehan out at first. The throw was high and left the playing field allowing Sheehan to advance into scoring position. With one out, Harmening was hit by a pitch, setting the stage for Whitley's game winner. With a 2-2 count, he stayed on a tough down-and-away change-up and lined a ball over short to score Sheehan giving the Lions the lead.

Sheehan then closed the door by striking out the leadoff hitter. Brock Bentley made a gold-glove level play when he harnessed in a one-hop shot to third turning a potential double into an out. The final out was recorded on another groundball to Bentley who threw wide to first but Hebert made a nice play coming off the bag to tag the runner for the game-ender.

Calvary now sits at 27-5 on the year and is in the CIF finals for the first time in school history. In fact, no Calvary team in any sport it's 20+ year history has ever played in the CIF finals.

Calvary will be taking on The Rock Academy on Friday 5/30 at Eastlake High School. Game time is 4:00.

The Rock is 23-4-1 on the year and has won their last 18 straight games. Their last loss was at the hands of Calvary when the Lions shut them out 3-0 in the first game of the Lion's Tournament.

It should be a great game! Come out and see it if you can.

Calvary vs. Horizon 5/25/12 CIF D-5 Play-offs Round 2

Lions Outlast Horizon to Advance to CIF   Semi-Finals

The Calvary Lions advanced to the CIF semi-finals with a 10-3 win over a tough Horizon Panther squad in a a game that was much tighter than the final score indicates.
Horizon jumped ahead early when they took a 1-0 lead in the second and they held their slim margin until the bottom of the third when senior Sam Sheehan changed the momentum by blasting a 3-run home run to dead center to give Calvary the lead. Calvary added 2 more in the 5th to increase their lead to 5-1 but Horizon battled back in the 6th scoring two and putting the tying runs aboard before a big, and very unusual, defensive play ended the threat and swayed the momentum back into the Lion's court. Calvary capitalized by following with a 5-run outburst in their final at bat to put the game out of reach.
Calvary's ace Russell Harmening got the start and pitched 6 effective innings while picking up his 9th win of the year. He allowed 6 hits and 3 runs, walking none and striking out 10 Panther hitters. Sheehan finished the game off by tossing a scoreless 7th inning allowing one hit and striking out the side.
After Horizon took the early one run lead, Horizon's #1 pitcher John Lee struggled with his control and threw 8 straight balls to the first two hitters of the inning. He made the most of his control problems by picking off one of the Calvary baserunners but sophomore David Carpenter lined a single to left-center to keep the rally going putting runners on 1st and 2nd to set the stage for the Sheehan home run. With two outs, he lined the first pitch he saw deep over the center field fence to give Calvary the lead that they would never surrender.
They added their 4th and 5th runs when Sam Hebert fought off an inside pitch and fisted a pop-up over first that dropped for a one-out single. Junior outfielder David Flores, now almost fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered playing basketball for the Lions, launched a drive over the centerfielder's head for a double putting runners on second and third. Carpenter followed by rocketing a hard liner to center scoring both runners.
But Horizon was not to be outdone. Trailing by 4, they mounted a two-out, nobody-on, rally when sophomore Kalani Nakamura hit a liner just out of shortsop Connor Kollenda's diving reach for an infield single. 3rd hitter Lane O'Dea made it a game when he hit a Harmening fastball over the centerfield fence for a two-run shot tightening the score to 5-3. They got their 3rd hit in-a-row when David Case lined a hard single to left bringing the tying run to the plate in sophomore Brad Horkan who had already singled earlier in the game. He kept up his hot hitting when he hit an 0-1 pitch to right center that hit high on the outfield fence. The ball hit a pole and ricocheted away from centerfielder Sheehan. Carpenter hustled all the way from right field and picked up the ball and heaved it home from deep center to catcher Caleb Whitley. The throw was short and Whitley was forced to abandon home plate to retrieve the ball. Harmening, who was backing up home on the play, moved to the plate when Whitley went after the ball. Out of the corner of his eye, Whitley saw the runner stumble and without hesitation, he alertly fed the ball to Harmening who tagged the runner out for the third out of the inning, saving a run and ending the threat. It is not often when a catcher is the cutoff man to a play at the plate.
If the play had not been made, Horizon would have cut the lead to 5-4 with the tying run on second. But that wasn't the case and knowing they dodged a bullet, a fired-up Calvary returned to the dugout and put the game away by answering back with 5 big runs in the bottom of the 6th.
Matt Hartman started the rally with a short pop to right that fell for a lead single. Harmening then hit a hard liner directly to the rightfielder who dropped it for an error putting two runners on board. Following a deep lineout to left by Whitley and a strikeout, pinch hitter Alex Nurding laced a single to right for a 2-out clutch RBI knock. Sam Hebert blooped a single just inches from the shortstop's outreached glove for another run-scoring single. Back-to-back errors by the Panther shortstop on two Flores and Carpenter ground balls allowed two more to score giving Calvary a 10-3 lead.
The win puts Calvary at 26-5 on the year and gurantees them a spot in the CIF semi-final game for the second straight season.
Last year was a different story because Calvary had one loss and had to win the loser's bracket and beat Santa Fe Christian twice to advance to the finals. They eliminated Tri-City Christian in the loser's bracket and won the first game against Santa Fe 6-2 but lost a heartbreaker when, after battling back to tie the game at 3-3, Santa Fe won in the bottom of the last inning on a walk-off hit. Santa Fe won the CIF title the next day.
This year the cleats are on the opposite foot, Calvary is in the winner's bracket and their competition must go through the loser's bracket and then come back and beat Calvary twice.
Horizon and Foothills are the two remaining teams in the Calvary's bracket.
NOTE: Horizon beat Foothills by a score of 11-5. They will play Calvary on Tuesday at 4:00 at Calvin Christian in the semi-final game. If Horizon wins, they will play again on Thursday, same time and location. The CIF championship game is Friday, June 1st.

Calvary vs. San Diego Jewish Academy CIF D-5 Play-offs 5/23/12

Home run to center

   Power Surge Propels Lions in Playoffs
The Calvary Lions put on an offensive performance scoring 10 runs in the first two innings and adding another 8 in the 4th to lift them to an 18-1 victory over San Diego Jewish Academy in the first round of the CIF playoffs.

The top seeded Lions pounded out 19 hits including 8 for extra bases. Sophomore designated hitter Matt Hartman hit his second home run of the season, a two run shot over the centerfield fence in the second inning and sophomore Sam Athas and senior Connor Kollenda each hit their first career home runs, Athas a 2-run pinch-hit blast to dead center in the 4th inning and Kollenda added an opposite field solo shot two batters later.

Hartman and Russell Harmening each collected 3 hits to lead the attack. Hartman added a double and a single to his home run and Harmening singled, doubled, and tripled. Sam Sheehan and Caleb Whitley each had two hits, one of Whitley's a double.

In all, 13 different Calvary players got base hits as all 20 on the roster participated in the game. David Carpenter and Sam Hebert each hit doubles and Alex Nurding, Andrew Cummings, David Flores, Chase Kollenda and Anthony Martin all pitched in hits.

Starter David Carpenter was nearly flawless in 4 innings pitched. He gave up only 1 hit, an opposite field bloop single and he hit a batter. He allowed no runs, walked none and struck out 8.

Isaac Conover threw the 5th walking one and striking out two. Senior Brock Bentley threw the 6th and accomplished the rare feat of striking out 4 batters in the inning. Despite a stellar outing by Bentley his defense unfortunately let him down allowing an unearned run, spoiling Calvary's bid for their 13th shutout of the season.

The win advances the 25-5 Lions to the second round of the CIF playoffs where they take on a very tough Horizon squad on Friday. Horizon, the tournaments #4 seed, is coming off a first-round 5-0 victory over Foothills Christian.

The game will once again be at Calvin Christian, first pitch at 4:00. Be there if you can!

Calvary @ La Jolla Country Day 5/17/12

                                                   More Harmening Heroics
Led by co-captain Russell Harmening, the Calvary Christian Lions won a nail-biter beating the La Jolla Country Day Torreys 4-3 in the final regular season game.

Calvary led for the majority of the game until the Torreys fought back and tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Their comeback set the stage for some Harmening heroics when, in the top of the last inning, Harmening belted a solo shot over the left field fence that recaptured the Lion's lead which they never relinquished.

Harmening started on the mound for the Lions and threw 5 solid innings allowing only 4 hits, no walks while striking out 7. His only mistake came in the 4th inning when he elevated an 0-1 changeup to MLB prospect Sam Ayala who launched it deep over the right field fence. It was the first run Harmening has given up in his last 30 innings pitched.

He left with a 3-1 lead but failed to get his 9th win of the year when the Torreys tied it up after his departure.

After a scoreless 1st inning, Calvary managed to load the bases in the second inning but failed to get a run across. They got on the board in the 3rd when David Carpenter led off with a walk, moved to second on a Sam Sheehan groundout, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored when Matt Hartman bounced a ball to short that was misplayed for an error.

They made it 3-0 in the 4th when Isaac Conover singled up the middle to start the inning and Sam Hebert walked putting runners at 1st & 2nd. A David Flores ground ball forced Hebert at second putting runners at first and third. With two outs, Carpenter then singled to score Kallin Iwasaki who was pinch-running for Conover. Sheehan followed with a line single to right scoring Flores who would have been out easily at the plate but a wide throw to home allowed him to score Calvary's third run.

Ayala's home run in the bottom of the inning made it 3-1.

Both teams failed to score in the 5th and Harmening, who was at 86 pitches, was relieved by Carpenter.

Normally a starting pitcher, Carpenter, who had not walked a batter in his last three outings, struggled with his control. He managed to get two outs on a strikeout and sacrifice bunt, but a single and two walks loaded the bases and Carpenter was relieved by Sheehan.

The Torrey's brought in pinch hitter Ian Lutz who singled through the 5.5 hole scoring two to tie the game at 3-3. He got out of the inning when he got the final hitter to fly out to left.

With the momentum now clearly in the Torrey's court, Harmening snatched it back when he hit the first pitch he saw deep over the wall to reclaim the lead. It was Harmening's third home run of the year.

Sheehan settled in and threw a scoreless bottom of the 7th to secure the victory. Sheehan was the winning pitcher of the day improving his season mark to 5-1.

The game marked the end of the regular season for the Lions who finished with a 24-5 overall mark. They won the Citrus-West championship as well putting up their second straight undefeated league season at 8-0.

They move on the CIF playoffs where they were awarded the number 1 seed in Division 5. They will take on the winner of the play-in game between Julian and San Diego Jewish Academy. They will play Wednesday at 4:00 at Calvin Christian.

Calvary vs. Lutheran 5/15/12

              Seniors Celebrate with No-Hitter
On senior day, four Calvary Pitchers combined to no-hit the Lutheran Knights leading the Lions to their second straight undefeated league season in the Citrus-West conference.

Senior pitchers Isaac Conover, Brock Bentley, Connor Kollenda and Sam Sheehan held the Knights to no hits or runs, 3 walks and struck out 13 batters.

The four senior pitchers along with co-captains Russell Harmening and Sam Hebert, were honored in a pregame ceremony where they threw out the first pitch of the game with their mom's by their side on the mound and their dad's catching the pitch behind the plate.

The pre-game ceremonies, which delayed the normal start time of the game, put Calvary starter Conover a bit out of sync. He struggled with his release point and walked the first 3 batters he faced. But fortunately he settled in and two stellar defensive plays bailed him out of a potential disastrous situation.

After a failed bunt attempt, catcher Caleb Whitley picked the runner off first who was eventually put out as he attempted to advance to second. With two outs and two runners on, an apparent run-scoring single was hit to right, but home field advantage played a role because Calvary plays the right fielder shallow due to the short porch in right field. Because of the positioning, rightfielder David Flores saved the run by charging hard and throwing the batter out at first to end the inning with no damage done.

Calvary was held scoreless in the first but took the lead in the second when Harmening led off the inning by lining a deep double over the left fielder's head. Conover was hit by a pitch and with two outs, Kollenda made the most of senior day by lining a double into the left-center gap to score both runners giving Calvary a 2-0 lead.

Conover recuperated from his first inning control problems and struck out the side in order in his second, and final, inning of work. From that point on, Calvary pitchers were perfect, retiring 16 straight hitters before an infield error allowed a baserunner in the last inning.

Bentley pitched a very impressive 3rd and 4th innings working very quickly and striking out 4 of the 6 hitters he faced. Kollenda threw a 1-2-3 inning striking out one and Sheehan closed it out by throwing the last two innings and striking out 5. Sheehan threw 22 pitches in his outing and did not throw a ball. 22 pitches - all strikes.

Calvary added their third run in the 4th inning when Whitley reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and scored on a Hebert single.

They added their final two runs in the 6th when Whitley hit a hard liner deep to left that was dropped by the left fielder for an error. Once again he stole second scoring this time on a Conover single. Freshman Kallin Iwasaki came in to run for Conover and he promptly stole second and scored on another Hebert RBI single to finish the Lion's scoring.

The Lion's finished the Citrus-West with an 8-0 record. Including last year's undefeated 9-0 season, they have now won 22 consecutive league games dating back to the 2010 season.

The win was their 7th in a row and third shutout in a row. Their pitchers have now thrown 25 consecutive scoreless innings.

The 23-5 Lions play their final regular season game taking on highly ranked La Jolla Country Day on Thursday. The Torreys are the defending CIF Division 4 champions.

Calvary vs. Guajome 5/11/12

    Another Shutout, Another League Title
The Calvary Christian Lions clinched their second straight Citrus West League title by shutting out the 2nd place Guajome Park Academy Frogs 6-0.

Russell Harmening and Brock Bentley combined for Calvary's 11th shutout of the season. Harmening threw the first 6 innings and Bentley threw the final frame to close out the game. Combined they allowed only 2 hits, 2 walks and struck out 8. The shutout lowered the Calvary pitching staff's season ERA to a microscopic 1.19.

It was an historic day for Harmening because when he struckout Frog hitter Connor Roys looking in the 4th inning, it was his 300th career strikeout. He finished the game with 303 career strikeouts which puts him in the record books as 10th in CIF history.

Calvary came out swinging when David Carpenter lead off the game by hustling for his 12th infield hit of the season. A hard groundout by Sam Sheehan forced Carpenter at second. Sheehan stole second and Matt Hartman walked putting runners on 1st and 2nd for Harmening who lined an RBI single scoring Sheehan. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and Caleb Whitley made them pay when he knocked them both in with a single through the third base hole giving Calvary an early 3-0 lead.

They added their 4th run in the 4th inning when Hartman and Harmening led off with back-to-back singles. Hartman later scored on an Isaac Conover RBI groundout.

They capped off their scoring by adding 2 more runs in the 5th inning when David Flores, who had already doubled in his first at bat, hit a deep ball to the right-center gap that he legged into a triple. He scored when Carpenter grounded to short and the ball was mishandled for an error. Carpenter came around to score on a Hartman sacrifice fly.

Calvary is now 22-5 on the year and is 7-0 in Citrus League play. They have two regular season games remaining, their final league game vs. Lutheran on Tuesday 5/15 at Calvin Christian and a non-league contest versus highly ranked La Jolla Country Day on Thursday 5/17 at 4:00 at La Jolla Country Day.

Tuesday's game will honor Calvary's 6 seniors. Be there if you can!

Calvary vs. Foothills 5/9/12

                                        Calvary Flattens Foothills
Sophomore lefthander David Carpenter gave himself the best birthday present ever by completely dominating the Foothills Christian Knight's offense by striking out all but 3 batters he faced. In 5 innings of work, he allowed only one hit and no walks while tallying 14 strikeouts.

His 17th birthday performance led Calvary to their 5th straight win, keeping them in sole possession of 1st place in the Citrus League West at 6-0. The Lions are now 21-5 overall.

Senior Sam Sheehan finished off the combined shutout by throwing 2 perfect innings of relief, striking out 3 Knight batters.

A good offense generates runs, creates momentum and capitalizes on their opponent's mistakes. This game epitomized that philosophy.

After Carpenter struck out out the first three batters of the game on only 10 pitches, Calvary seized the momentum and answered back with 5 runs in their half of the 1st inning. Carpenter started things off by banging a single down the first base line. Sheehan drew a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd. After the next two batters were retired, Caleb Whitley hit a deep drive down the left field line that was dropped by the left fielder. Both runners took advantage of the mistake and raced home scoring on the error giving Calvary their first two runs. With Whitley at second base, Foothills attempted a pickoff and threw wildly to second and advanced to third, he scored when the wild throw was missed by the centerfielder for Foothill's third error of the inning.

Continuing to seize the momentum and take advantage of mistakes, Alex Nurding followed by drawing a walk, Isaac Conover was hit by a pitch and Sam Hebert drew his first of 3 walks on the day to load the bases. Junior David Flores, who is nearly recovered from the knee injury he suffered in basketball, drove in two when he lined a soft single over shortstop giving Calvary a quick 5-0 lead.

Calvary added 2 more in the second when Matt Hartman bounced an infield single just out of the
pitcher's reach, stole second base and scored on a Russell Harmening single through the 5.5 hole. Harmening scored when Whitley lined an RBI double just inside the left field line.

They added another in the 3rd when Hebert walked and Flores singled to put runners on first and second. Speedy Jordan Evans came in to run at second and scored when Sam Sheehan lined a solid single to left.

Two more scored in the 4th when Harmening and Whitley started the inning with consecutive walks. They advanced a base on a wild pitch and scored when Alex Nurding hit a hard single down the first base line.

Calvary's scoring concluded with a bang in the sixth when Harmening stepped up with two runners on and launched a line shot over the left field fence for a three-run home run. His 4 RBIs on the day give him a team-leading 30 which is one of the top totals in San Diego County.

They scored their final run when Andrew Cummings reached on an infield error and advanced around to score on an infield hit by Carpenter.

Calvary plays a big game on Friday against 2nd place Guajome Park Academy. The game will most likely determine the Citrus West league champion. They play at 3:15 at the Vista Sports Park.