Crean Lutheran looks to continue success this week in Ryan Lemmon Invitational

Crean Lutheran players including No. 5 Davis Rutten, before a game this season. (Photo courtesy Crean Lutheran Shutterbugs, Ted Rigoni).

Crean Lutheran High School’s baseball team is looking to continue its early season success in this week’s Ryan Lemmon Invitational at the Great Park.

The Saints (11-3 overall) won all five games they played in the Anaheim Lions Tournament before losing to Viewmont of Utah 1-0 Saturday in eight innings in the opening game of the Ryan Lemmon Invitational.

Crean Lutheran is back in action against Laguna Beach Monday at 6 p.m. at the Great Park field eight and faces Irvine Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., also on field eight.

Saints Coach Jake Haney has been pleased with what he’s seen so far from his team.

“I didn’t exactly know what to expect but our fall and winter weren’t great, it was really up and down and we really struggled to find the right mix of pitchers to get it done and kind of figured it out right before the season and then these guys have stepped up,” Haney said Saturday after the tourney opener.

“We played in the Lions Tournament and went 5-0 and we had five different guys start on the mound and all five threw really well so from that standpoint we almost have too many guys throwing really well, but we’ve played great to start the season. We’ve played good enough defense and we got enough offense at the right times, we’ve executed really well….”

There were some standouts in the Anaheim Lions tourney.

“In the win over San Juan Hills, Ian McDermott was dominant on the mound and did a really good job mixing it up and Monday, we played Roosevelt and Ben Ricketts took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and we ended up winning that game 5-1,” Haney said.

“He was phenomenal and then on Wednesday, we played Heritage from Colorado and Griffin Theetge, our third baseman, pitched and he threw six one-hit innings and struck out 10 so we’ve had a lot of good contributions from a lot of pitchers and our bullpen guys London Hauser and Max Adams have done a good job (along with) Ryan Meyer. Blake Armstrong threw very well against a team from Oregon and punched out eight in four innings, so it’s been contributions from a lot of guys, so it’s been fun.”

The ace of the staff has been senior Ethan Chavez who pitched seven shutout innings Saturday, striking out 11 against Viewmont. Chavez (3-2) did not get a decision.

Chavez pitched a no-hitter for the Saints against Yorba Linda, the first since 2023 when Wyatt Nichol, Jack Sand and Bryan Fernandez combined for a no-hitter vs. Valencia.

There have been three complete game no-hitters in school history, according to Haney.

Josh Richter pitched one in 2018 and Paul Sardo threw one in 2013 in a CIF playoff game.

“We’ve been really good on the mound but I will say that of all of our guys who have been fantastic on the mound, he is the guy we look to as our ace,” Haney said of Chavez. “He has a really calm demeanor, he believes in his stuff, he attacks the strike zone with four pitches and he’s a kid who made himself into a good baseball player since he’s been here. It’s cool to see him kind of flourish in that role as an ace.”

Haney indicated that the Saints have gotten some breaks and cashed them into wins.

“To be honest a lot of the good fortune we’ve had to this point is really because a lot of the teams not doing a good job at the end of games, we had a couple of teams just sort of meltdown right in front of us and hand us the game, we took it and went home with the win,” he said. “We’ve kind of stayed in games long enough to have a chance if the other team doesn’t finish it.”

Crean Lutheran is 2-1 in the Freeway League, which also includes league leading Canyon (4-0), La Habra (1-2), Yorba Linda and Pacifica (0-3).

Crean Lutheran resumes league play Saturday at 11 a.m. at Pacifica.

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com