The Hahn effect lifts Santa Ana’s Mater Dei

Three months ago, I sat in the bleachers at Corona Santiago and watched Santa Ana Mater Dei lose, 17-2, in a season-opening baseball game that caused me to conclude the Monarchs had no quality pitchers and little chance to be a top team.

Little did I know that Coach Burt Call was about to unleash his secret weapon, Cory Hahn, a standout center fielder headed to Arizona State, who had never pitched in high school.

“He basically said, ‘Jump on my back, we’ll get it done,’ ” Call said. “He’s done that all year for us.”

So that explains the unexplainable: Mater Dei (15-10) finishing second in the tough Trinity League and making itself a dangerous opponent when Hahn is on the mound.

There was a time in March when the Monarchs had no effective pitchers other than Hahn, which is why he threw three consecutive games against top opponents. He beat Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley, 5-1; Orange Lutheran, 7-0; and San Juan Capistrano JSerra, 7-2.

Soon, the Monarchs would develop other pitchers to support Hahn, but he was the one who rescued the team when its psyche was in peril and kept the Monarchs moving forward while waiting for the reinforcements to arrive.

“I still feel the weight is on my shoulders, but I have no problem with that,” Hahn said. “Being a senior and one of the captains, the weight should be partially on my shoulders.”

At 5 feet 10, 160 pounds, the hard-throwing left-hander is 10-1 with a 1.17 earned-run average. He’s also batting .370 with seven home runs. A year ago, he proved he was one of the best players in Southern California when he hit a grand slam off future first-round draft pick Matt Hobgood of Norco, handing him his only defeat during a quarterfinal playoff game.

During the summer, with growing concerns about the Mater Dei pitching staff, he started preparing to contribute on the mound. And when the top returning pitcher, Matt Blanchard, was diagnosed with a season-ending torn labrum, there was no one left to turn to.

“It’s quite an experience,” he said. “I used to pitch when I was younger, but once I got to Mater Dei, we were loaded with pitching. It’s been fun the whole time. I didn’t expect to have this much success, but the more success, the more confident I got. I feel every time I go out there, I have a chance to win.”

Professional scouts will always be skeptical of Hahn because of his lack of size, but let’s see how many hitters are going to be successful against him during the playoffs. Mater Dei has plans to use him in Thursday’s first-round Southern Section Division 1 playoff game and, if the Monarchs win, come back the following Tuesday with him in the second round.

The Monarchs are daring teams to beat him. Opponents must deal with the magic he creates when he’s in a game.

“I know game in and game out, I’m going to give you everything,” he said. “I think that’s what pushes me farther than most people.”

His coach notices the Hahn effect.

“Just his presence makes our team a lot better,” Call said. “When he’s on the mound, he’s got that confidence and competitive fire that trickles down to the rest of the players.”

There are a lot of elite pitchers this season: Paul Paez from La Puente Bishop Amat, Griffin Murphy from Redlands East Valley, Dylan Covey from Pasadena Maranatha, Adam Plutko from Glendora, Henry Owens from Huntington Beach Edison, Andrew Thurman and Bobby Wheatley from Orange Lutheran, Cody Buckel from Simi Valley Royal, Peter Tago from Dana Point Dana Hills …

But if you ask me to name the pitcher who could best deliver victory in a playoff game this season, I’d choose Hahn. He has figured out how to win, and Mater Dei is wisely going to ride his arm for as long as it can.

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