SANTA ANA EASTER BASEBALL TOURNAMENT : Villa Park Rolls Past Mission Viejo Into Championship Game

For the second consecutive day, Matt Brady delivered the key hit for Villa Park in the Santa Ana Easter baseball tournament.

Tuesday, the Spartans’ No. 9 batter hit a two-out RBI single in the fifth to help Villa Park break open a close game and coast to a 9-1 victory over Mission Viejo at Santa Ana Valley High.

The victory moved Villa Park (7-6) into today’s 1:30 p.m. championship game at Rancho Santiago College against Diamond Bar, a 6-5 winner against Santa Ana.

Although winning pitcher Matt Parker, Brady, and A.J. Strapp held Mission Viejo to no earned runs and five hits, Villa Park Coach Scott Wilson was just as happy to see his offense come around.

“Early in the season, we were hitting the ball right at people,” Wilson said. “I give our kids a lot of credit because they haven’t quit. They haven’t let down and now those hits are falling.”

Jeremy Bentley had three hits and three RBIs, Kayvan Pehoujian had two hits and three runs scored, and Brady had two RBIs to lead the Spartans’ attack.

Villa Park (7-6) loaded the bases with one out in the fifth on an infield single, a walk, and a dropped pop fly to shallow center field.

After Mission Viejo caught Villa Park’s Tony D’Amato in a rundown for the second out at third, Brady grounded a single to right to score Pehoujian and give Villa Park a 2-1 lead.

Bentley followed a looping two-run double down the left-field line to score Jeff Halbert and Brady, making it 4-1. The Spartans blew open the game with three more runs in the sixth and two in the seventh.

“We had our opportunities early and didn’t capitalize,” Mission Viejo Coach Ron Drake said. “Villa Park got the clutch hits today.”

In the second, the Diablos (6-7) loaded the bases with one out, but Parker struck out opposing pitcher Jason Sperling and got leadoff hitter Erick Fielding to pop out to third.