ANAHEIM — The Maranatha baseball team came into the CIF Southern Section Division 2 playoffs with momentum and confidence after capturing its seventh consecutive Olympic League title.

However, the Minutemen’s season came to an abrupt end in their first round after Anaheim Canyon pulled out a 10-6 victory Friday.

Maranatha’s Josh Proctor, Eric Zdunek, and Lukus Perez all finished 2 for 4 at the plate, but it wasn’t enough as the Minutemen’s offense was outpaced on the road.

Perhaps the big surprise Friday was that Maranatha coach Matt Shupper didn’t start arguably the San Gabriel Valley’s top pitcher, Zach Strickland, a UCLA commit with a 6-0 record and a 0.58 ERA.

“We were hoping to get by,” Shupper said, explaining his reasons for not starting his ace. “This team (Canyon) had a bunch of lefties. We were gonna throw Carson Kelly and bullpen this game. Our pitching staff has been phenomenal all season with an ERA that is sub-two. So, we were hoping to have Zach close out this game if we grabbed the lead and start him in game two if that’s what it came down to.”

Canyon (19-10) advances to Tuesday’s second to face Servite, a 1-0 winner over Riverside Poly.

The Comanches seemed to stun the Minutemen by scoring four runs in the first inning off Kelly.

Kelly lasted one inning as Shupper quickly made the move to the bullpen. Maranatha brought in Bradley Loiacono, the first of four pitchers to appear out of the bullpen for the Minutemen.

Maranatha’s offense provided a bit of run support, pushing across a run in the second inning.

Zdunek picked up two RBIs with a one-out single in the third inning.

Maranatha trailed 4-3 heading to the fourth inning.

Just as it seemed like the Minutemen could swing the game in their favor, their offense went ice cold with six consecutive outs over the fifth and sixth innings.

Canyon’s offense came alive again late, pushing three runs across in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Camden Goetz capped the Comanches’ rally with a two-run home run. He finished 3 for 3 with three RBIs, a double and a home run.

Maranatha picked up three consecutive hits to begin the seventh inning. After Zdunek brought in a run with a sacrifice fly, Canyon got back-to-back outs to end the game.

““I’m proud of my team for the way they battled,” Shupper said. “Our guys are fighters. My credit goes to Canyon, they really swung the bat well at their home field. And our guys, the field played big and some of the balls didn’t go over their heads like we thought. But I’m really proud of this team, they worked hard.”

Maranatha finished the season 18-10-1.

Shupper said he’s looking forward to the future of the program and likes the direction it’s headed.

“We’re very young, but talented,” Shupper said. “Maranatha baseball is not going away. We’re going to be really talented and we’ve got some guys who can really play this game coming up.”

Originally Published: May 16, 2025 at 7:27 PM PDT