Notre Dame and Crespi head toward a Mission League showdown

It's top-ranked Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (22-2, 10-0) taking on third-ranked Encino Crespi (20-5, 9-1) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Lake Balboa Birmingham in a high school baseball game that figures to attract a huge crowd because it's a matchup of neighborhood rivals with legitimate Southern Section Division III championship aspirations.

"I'm expecting a lot of people," Crespi Coach Scott Muckey said.

Something has to give because the two starting senior pitchers haven't lost this season. Notre Dame's Nik Rodarte is 8-0 with a 1.85 earned-run average, and Crespi's Tyler Johnson is 8-0 with a 1.24 ERA and has an 18-0 record in his varsity career.

Notre Dame can clinch its first Mission League title since 1999 with a victory. If Crespi wins, the league title will be decided in a Thursday game between the two schools at Valley College.

The intensity level is always high when these schools meet in any sport.

"I just know one thing about Crespi-Notre Dame," Muckey said. "You can expect the unexpected."

Each team has shown an ability this season to handle pressure and overcome deficits. Notre Dame won two extra-inning games over West Hills Chaminade last week.

Crespi was ranked No. 1 by The Times in the preseason, stumbled early, then gained respect by winning the Anderson Bat National Classic title game on March 28, defeating Orange Lutheran in the final.

Notre Dame, under veteran Coach Tom Dill, has been a surprise, going unranked in the preseason and climbing to No. 1 in the Southland by continually pulling out close victories.

Rodarte's pitching and hitting has been the key. He's batting .386 with a team-leading 23 runs batted in.

"I can't imagine anyone in league having a better year on the mound and at the plate," Dill said.

Johnson, the son of former Valley College Coach Chris Johnson, knows what's at stake this week for the Celts.

"We have to win two games to get that Mission League title, and it's important for our entire team," he said. "Both teams are playing real good baseball."

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com