Lakewood High catcher David Peters and his battery mate pitcher Jonathan Worrell make up one of the area’s best tandems, but it almost never happened.

The Lancer ace suffered through kidney stones a month before the season started, and it was a realistic scenario that the 6-foot-3 right-hander would be out all year.  “I had to stay at home for three weeks and drink gallons of water until I got better, and wasn’t sure I’d be back for a senior year I was so looking forward to,” Worrell said. “It was a very emotional time for me, and my mom (Victoria), my girlfriend and my teammates have been there for me every step of the way.”

Worrell is now 7-1 with a 0.46 ERA, and has struck out 46 batters in just 46 innings. He can also recall the moment he felt like it was his time to contribute.

“We were beating Wilson in the first game of league and Matt Duffy had gone the first six innings and I was going to finish the game, so David and I went down to the bullpen to get me ready,” Worrell said. “David said ‘Jonathan, we have needed you all along and need you now,’ and it really made me feel important and wanted as a teammate.”

Peters is the best hitting catcher in the area (.402 average) with 37 hits, 21 runs scored, and a team-high 39 RBI’s and 11 doubles.  He’s also the rock behind the plate that Worrell, Duffy and Jeff Yamaguchi all credit with calming their nerves.

“David is so solid behind the plate, that we can just concentrate on throwing whatever pitch is called and have no other worries,” Yamaguchi said. “I feel very comfortable with him back there and he’s also our most clutch RBI guy. I always know when I’m on second base that David will knock me in.”

The Lancers finished the season tied for second with Poly at 8-4, but because of a season sweep at the hand of the Jackrabbits, enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed from the Moore League.  The season result was a shock to a talent-rich Lakewood squad, and a thrill for all the teams and parents that have found solace in hating Lancers baseball.  In nearly 10 years of covering high school sports, I’ve never seen an outpouring of ill will towards a group of high school athletes and their coaches.  It’s a fact the Lakewood players and coaches have learned to accept.

“I’d like to think people don’t like us because we’ve been successful, but I think its a huge misconception when people say we play dirty,” Worrell said. “I won’t lie and say we don’t go out there, give 110 % and play hard, but we’ve never gone out there with the intention of hurting anybody.”

For Peters, he’s become accustomed to taking it in stride.  “It definitely sucks when we lose a game and everyone goes crazy and makes us feel worse than we already feel, but I’d rather us be good enough that everyone cares when we play because it pumps us up,” Peters said.

Lakewood will travel to Huntington Beach on Friday to take on Sunset League champion Edison and its ace, Kurt Heyer in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division I playoffs.  But for Peters and Worrell, their days of playing for free will likely end shortly.
With a fastball in the low 90’s for Worrell, and a technically sound catcher and clutch hitter in Peters, both Lancers standouts are expected to be drafted in June and chase the dream of almost every young boy.

“Jonathan began getting into pitching shape about three weeks into the season and has worked very hard to become one of the best pitchers in CIF,” Lakewood’s coaching legend Spud O’Neil said. “David patiently waited his turn and worked hard on his defensive skills and is one of the leaders in RBI’s with 39 in CIF.”

Both Worrell and Peters credit shortstop-pitcher Matt Duffy with being the glue that has kept Lakewood together through its “bipolar” season.  Duffy is hitting .380 with 35 hits and 34 runs batted in, and has won five games on the mound with a 1.62 ERA.

“Matt and I are inseparable,” Peters said. “He’s always the one who I spend extra time hitting with, and has been as good a friend as I’ve ever had.”  Worrell added, “Matt is a guy that helped me in any way I needed, and his performance on the mound early on when I was not healthy really kept our team in contention.”

For Duffy, he couldn’t wait for everyone to be healthy.  “Peters is our clutch RBI guy and with Worrell, his numbers say everything,” he said.

No one can argue that Lakewood is at its best with Worrell on the mound and Yamaguchi and Duffy up the middle. And that’s what they’ll need if they’re to make a deep playoff run.

“I don’t care about getting any publicity,” Peters said. “I just want to do anything I can to help our team win games and I know that’s exactly how Matt, Jonathan, Jeff and all my teammates feel.”

Love them or hate them, Lakewood baseball will always be a force in Long Beach-area baseball because of great ball players and great kids.