SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – JSerra’s baseball team needed a starting pitcher Friday.

JJ Hollis was ready and willing.

“He was texting me last night,” said JSerra coach Brett Kay. “He told me he wanted the ball.”

So Kay gave it to him and Hollis responded with a two-hitter as the Lions beat No. 1-ranked Orange Lutheran 2-1 on Friday in a Trinity League game at JSerra High.

Orange Lutheran, ranked No. 1 in Orange County, won the first two games of the three-game, league-opening series with No. 3 JSerra, 9-0 on Tuesday and 1-0 on Wednesday.

Friday’s game was the first loss of the season for the Lancers (7-1, 2-1), who are ranked No. 1 in California by Prep Baseball Report.

The Lions (6-5, 1-2), whose challenging schedule has included games against state No. 4 Harvard Westlake and state No. 5 Corona, are ranked No. 7 in California.

Hollis started in place of senior Tyler Gough, who was a precautionary scratch because of elbow discomfort.

Hollis walked Orange Lutheran leadoff batter Derek Curiel in the top of the first inning then gave up back-to-back singles to Mike Romero and Casey Borba. Borba’s ground ball scooted through the gap between JSerra shortstop Ryusei Fujiwara and third baseman Andrew Lamb to drive in Curiel for a 1-0 lead.

Hollis is a 6-4 junior right-hander who has committed to UC Santa Barbara. He did not allow a hit the rest of the way. He finished with seven strikeouts and allowed three walks in his first start in a Trinity League game and his second start in varsity baseball.

JJ Hollis ends JSerra’s 2-1 win over Orange Lutheran with his seventh strikeout in his complete game ⁦@ocvarsityguy⁩ ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ pic.twitter.com/8KWb7Y4ZCI

— Steve Fryer (@SteveFryer) March 12, 2022

JSerra made some spectacular plays to support him.

In the fourth inning Lamb expertly short-hopped Bryan Martinez’ chopper and gunned it to first baseman David Horn, who gloved the ball that skipped toward him like a flat rock skimming the surface of a lake.

Fujiwara made a running over-the-shoulder catch of Martinez’s pop fly in shallow left field in the sixth inning, and Lamb made a diving snag of Carson Bowen’s line drive in the seventh.

“Andrew Lamb made a couple of diving plays which saved me a couple of runs,” Hollis said. “(Fujiwara) at shortstop made a couple of diving plays at short, caught some line drives and made some nice ground ball plays. For sure, a huge part of the win.”

The Lions scored their runs in the bottom of the third inning. Jake Bourne led off the frame with a single. A wild pitch moved him to second base, Lamb’s single moved him to third and Bourne scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 1-1.

Horn’s sacrifice fly drove in Lamb to put JSerra on top 2-1.

Hollis relied mostly on his changeup in the first inning. His curveball was not effective, so Hollis’ fastball became the prevalent pitch in later innings.

“After the first inning … I was able to spot my fastball on the outside corner pretty much the whole game,” he said. “Fastball and changeup were on and that’s all I needed.”

JSerra pitcher JJ Hollis talks about his two-hitter in a 2-1 win over Orange Lutheran and great plays made by teammates SS Ryusei Fujiwara and 3B Andrew Lamb … pic.twitter.com/0KzMg02vJN

— Steve Fryer (@SteveFryer) March 12, 2022

A scary moment happened when JSerra’s Ricky Rodenburg was struck in the nose by a pitch. Rodenburg got up after a minute on the turf. Water and towels were required to clean the blood in the batter’s box. Orange County Fire Authority personnel arrived and tended to Rodenburg who was taken to a hospital.

Kay said late Friday that Rodenburg sustained a fractured nasal cavity and fractures around an eye socket, injuries that will likely require surgery.

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Orange Lutheran plays Servite for three Trinity League games next week, starting Tuesday at Servite.

JSerra plays Santa Margarita in three league games next week, beginning Tuesday at JSerra.