Baseball: ECR’s Jeremy Polon masters Chatsworth and the heat

If anyone wants to play a baseball game in the Mojave Desert, sophomore left-hander Jeremy Polon of El Camino Real would be the perfect choice to start on the mound. He loves to pitch with the temperature hitting triple digits.

“I do like the hot weather,” he said. “I tend to pitch better.”

Last summer, he was pitching in Arizona when it hit 115 degrees. The temperature reached 99 in Woodland Hills on Wednesday, so Polon couldn’t have been happier taking on the challenge of facing Chatsworth in a must-win situation. He responded by throwing a complete-game five-hitter, striking out three and walking one in El Camino Real’s 9-3 West Valley League victory.

By winning, El Camino Real (21-9, 7-2) moved into a tie for first place with Chatsworth (25-5-, 7-2). The league title will be decided on Friday at Chatsworth when the two teams play in a regular-season finale.

El Camino Real did everything a championship team does _ the pitcher threw strikes, the fielders made no errors and the hitters came through with clutch hits. Sophomore Eric Yang had a two-run double in the first inning. Colton Snyder had a two-run single. Hayden Rappoport had a two-run single and Erik Whittlesey had an RBi single in the sixth to break the game open.

Most worrisome for Chatsworth is uncertainty with its pitching staff. Ace Josh Garcia had to be scratched from the starting lineup because of stiffness in his shoulder. The No. 2 pitcher, Tommy Palomera, still hasn’t received doctor’s clearance after a freak injury last week in which he suffered a gash to the back of his head when he was stretching his arm and a metal part holding the stretching chord to the fence broke off.

Niko Switalla got the start and lasted only two innings, giving up five runs. Chatsworth also didn’t help itself with three errors and a failure to field bunts competently.

But everything can change if the Chancellors can regroup by Friday. Either Palomera or John Cashman will get the start against Brian Gallagher. The winner will likely receive the No. 1 seed for the City Section Division I playoffs when pairings are announced on Saturday.

As for Polon, it was his first varsity experience in the Chatsworth-ECR rivalry. The two schools have combined to win 16 City championshps, and Polon’s poise and composure offered a glimpse into the future. The 16-year-old can handle pressure and heat.

Birmingham locked up third place in the league with a 3-2 win over Granada Hills. Freshman Justin Rorick hit a two-run home run. Ryan Mendoza drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh. Taft defeated Cleveland, 10-8. Jayson Newman hit two home runs and Jacob Davies hit a grand slam.