Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now.
If there’s one thing you can depend on in the West Valley League, it’s parity, and it showed on opening day.
Chatsworth baseball stunned Birmingham Charter 3-0 at home Tuesday.
Josh Pollack earned the win in six innings with six strikeouts. Josh Ruedas closed the game. Barry Menjivar went 2 for 2 with an RBI to lead the Chancellors.
But it didn’t come without a little bit of drama, which is also a main ingredient during the course of league play.
The game was played under protest after Birmingham Charter coach Matt Mowry felt that a Chatsworth batter had too much pine tar on his bat in the third inning when the score was 1-0. The umpire determined the bat was illegal after a base hit was made, but the batter/runner was not called out, which prompted Mowry’s protest.
However, according to Mowry, the protest is moot unless the final score is within one run.
Chatsworth will play at Birmingham Friday at 3 p.m.
Granada Hills 4, Cleveland 1: Drew Gustafson earned the win in five innings of work. He also had a hit and drew two walks. Brandon Garfinkel was 1 for 2 with a double and an RBI in the Highlander’s West Valley League opener.
El Camino Real 10, Taft 6: Brady Heron and Jonathan Bogacz each had two RBIs. Tyler Sileo had seven strikeouts in five innings.
Newbury Park 1, Westlake 0 (8 innings): Evan Needham’s sacrifice fly scored Jack Medhurst in the bottom of the eight to win the game. Cole Miller threw seven scoreless innings, allowed four hit and had four strikeouts.
Oaks Christian 2, Calabasas 0: Jaden Onaca pitched a complete game shutout. Finley Buckner went 2 for 3 with an RBI to keep the Lions unbeaten in the Marmonte League at 4-0 and give he Coyotes its first league loss.
Thousand Oaks 4, Agoura 2: Vinny Neilson hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning for a walk-off Marmonte League win.
Loyola 7, Crespi 4: Lucas Gaby had three hits and an RBIs in the setback for the Celts.
Chaminade 4, Alemany 2: Aric Berg pitched a complete game. Vincent Van Der Wel hit a solo homer in the win.
Newbury Park 5, Westlake 3: Paige Henry pitched a complete game and helped her own cause with a two-run home run.
