Successful Season Blooms at Orange : Baseball: A struggling program for some time now is in playoff field.

Ed Howard remembers vividly the day his Orange baseball team stopped being the patsy on the block.

The Panthers were coming off a pathetic season and were flailing away during a rather unimportant summer league game. A ground ball was hit toward left field, similar to the plethora of ground balls that previously went for base hits.

This time, though, shortstop David Matrange made a diving stop, then, on one knee, he threw the runner out.

Nothing has been the same since.

“It was like a load of bricks were lifted off them,” Howard said. “It was the type of play that they could only imagine making before. The kids realized they could make plays like that and they could beat the top teams.”

That confidence certainly carried over to this season, as Orange has gone from chumps to champs.

The Panthers, well-worn doormats the last two seasons, play host to Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in the Southern Section Division II playoffs Friday. It’s their first playoff appearance since 1990.

Orange was the co-champion of the Century League, the program’s first league title since 1987. True, the Panthers’ 13-12 overall record doesn’t look that menacing, but considering they were 1-13-1 in league play last season and 3-12 in 1991, it represents a giant leap forward.

“Yeah, girls’ softball teams have stopped calling about playing homecoming games with us,” Howard said.

The Panthers’ rise was not completely unexpected. Howard had played nothing but sophomores and freshmen last season and hoped they would develop. The youth movement wasn’t exactly by choice; the Panthers had virtually no returning lettermen.

It was a painful experience.

The Panthers committed 96 errors last season. They also walked 108 batters.

As a result, they didn’t just lose, they were stomped.

“Every game was 16-0, 11-1, 15-2,” Howard said. “It was really ugly. We were terrible. They drove me crazy.”

He has since regained his sanity.

Orange has made only 18 errors this season. Matrange, a sophomore, and second baseman Saul Archuleta, a junior, have been solid up the middle.

The Panthers still walk too many batters, 130 and counting, but this season they aren’t giving away runs.

“You have to credit the kids,” Howard said. “They went out and did the extra work to improve. We let the leadoff batter on in 23 of our 25 games last season and 20 of them scored. We’ve stopped doing that this year.”

The Panthers aren’t a dominant hitting team. Catcher Jacob Garza, their clean-up hitter, is batting only .208. In fact, no one in the middle of the order is hitting better than .260.

Their pitching is overpowering. Orange’s top winner is Dean Schmaus, who is 7-2 and has pitched only 26 innings, earning him the nickname “The Vulture” from his teammates.

But Orange is now finding ways to win, instead of creating losses.

“We just keep coming back,” Howard said. “I don’t think the other team realizes what has happened until two hours after the game.”

The best example of the Panthers’ tenacity was against El Modena.

Orange was trailing, 7-1, after three innings, a situation that would have brought on a total collapse a year ago. But the Panthers rallied and freshman Eric Mendoza singled in the tying run with two outs in the seventh.

El Modena scored in the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, pinch-hitter Sean Simpson’s two-run single won the game.

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No. 1-seeded West Covina South Hills is a heavy favorite to repeat as Division II champion.

The Huskies (23-2), who rallied for a 6-5 victory over Irvine in the title game last season, have eight players batting .300 or better. Randy Vickers is 6-0 with a 2.18 earned-run average and his hitting .467 with eight home runs and 20 runs batted in.

Troy and Buena Park, the top two teams from the Freeway League, are the top two teams from Orange County in the division. Troy rolled through league play and has plenty of depth. Buena Park has the 1-2 pitching combination necessary to win a title. Alfredo Garcia is 9-3 and Alfonso Flores is 8-1.

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In Division I, Fountain Valley is the third-seeded team. But seeded teams have not done well in this division.

In fact, the No. 1-seeded team has not won the Division I title since Lakewood in 1970. “I remember everyone kept telling me that in 1987 and 1989,” Esperanza Coach Mike Curran said. “I heard it a lot those two years.”

Esperanza was the No. 1-seeded team both seasons but couldn’t win the title. Diamond Bar, last season’s No. 1 team, reached the final but was beaten by Long Beach Millikan, 5-4. It was the Rams’ second consecutive championship.

Encino Crespi is the No. 1-seeded team this season. Simi Valley had been ranked No. 1 most of the season, and No. 2 in the nation by USA Today.

Fountain Valley, Esperanza and Mater Dei all have the ingredients to win the championship. They have pitching, hitting and have come through tough leagues.

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Irvine drops to Division III this season and is the team to beat. Although the Vaqueros are not seeded, they have been ranked as high as ninth in the nation by USA Today.

With eight starters back from a team that reached the Division II final, Irvine was considered a favorite before the season. Pitcher Tommie Louie, first baseman Ryan Jones, outfielder Scott Seal and shortstop Aron Garcia have exceeded expectations, and the Vaqueros finished as co-champions in the Sea View League.

It won’t be an easy road, though. No. 1-seeded La Puente Bishop Amat (25-0) has a formidable pitching combination in Jesus Peinado (9-0, 0.33 ERA) and Eddie Hernandez (10-0, 2.04 ERA). No. 2-seeded Santa Fe (22-1) has won 13 consecutive games since losing to Corona del Mar in the Pride of the Coast tournament.

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Pasadena Poly and Cerritos Valley Christian are the class of Division V. Valley Christian, the No. 2-seeded team, has plenty of offense and pitcher Jason Wells (9-1, 2.36 ERA).

Orange Lutheran, which finished second to Valley Christian in the Olympic League, features pitcher/shortstop Jeff Courvoisier, who is hitting .513 and is 7-4 on the mound. The Lancers beat Wells and Valley Christian, 6-3, in the season finale.

Whittier Christian and Brethren Christian are the only other Orange County teams in the division.

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Temecula Linfield and Boron are both riding season-long streaks into the Division VI playoffs.

Linfield (20-1), the No. 1-seeded team, has won 19 consecutive games.

Boron (19-0), the No. 2-seeded team, has six players hitting .380 or better.

Liberty Christian and St. Margaret’s, the top two teams from the Academy League, are the best among the county teams. Both will have to step up their play to challenge for the title.