Preps HIGHLIGHTS : Sylmar Has No Mercy on Holywood Behind Ruiz, 16-Hit Offense

Sixteen hits and a sparkling pitching performance by Rod Ruiz led the Sylmar High baseball team to a lopsided 21-2 East Valley League win Thursday at Hollywood.

Ruiz (3-1) was given a six-run cushion before he took mound in the first inning. He pitched a three-hitter over five innings, and helped his cause on offense by driving in three runs with two singles.

Jose Garcia had four hits and three RBIs, Rick Diaz homered, singled and had four RBIs, and Mark Girard singled three times and had two RBIs for Sylmar.

Sylmar is 9-1 in league. Hollywood is 0-10.

Chatsworth 10, Cleveland 4

A six-run second inning lifted Chatsworth High to a West Valley League win at Cleveland.

The second-inning explosion was triggered by four Cleveland errors.

Bill Berry struck out 13 en route to a complete game for Chatsworth.

Chatsworth is 5-1. Cleveland is 3-3.

Birmingham 11, Van Nuys 2

Birmingham High scored in every inning but the fourth en route to a run-away win over Van Nuys at home.

Jordan Cook had three hits, including a home run, and drove in three runs to lead Birmingham. Kevin Gelbard added two singles and David Bitran tripled.

Mike Marron (2-0) pitched a complete game for the Braves.

Birmingham is 3-3 in the Mid-Valley League.

Grant 9, Poly 4

Grant High plated eight runs in the first two innings and coasted to a win over Polytechnic at home.

Rob Hunt tripled and doubled, Rodney Beck singled three times and Michael Berger singled twice for Grant. Berger also pitched a complete game.

Danny Gil hit a three-run home run in the third inning for Poly.

Grant is 8-2 in the East Valley League.

Crossroads 9, Providence 0

Doug Pitkin and Mike Czarnetski each homered and singled to lead Crossroads High to a Delphic League win over Providence at Cloverfield Park in Santa Monica.

Crossroads scored seven runs in the fourth inning to break the game open.

Providence fell to 1-2 in league.

Monroe 7, Kennedy 2

Monroe High scored four runs on three fifth-inning Kennedy errors en route to a Mid-Valley League win at Kennedy.

Jeff Lambert slugged a first-inning home run for Monroe.

Monroe is 4-2 in league. Kennedy is 3-3.

SOFTBALL STARTS HERE

Canoga Park 2, Cleveland 0

De Dow hurled her fourth one-hitter this season to lead Canoga Park High to a West Valley League victory at Cleveland.

Dow (7-0), who is averaging 13 strikeouts a game, struck out 16 and walked no one. Dow also singled home Canoga Park’s first run.

Canoga Park is 2-0 in league. Cleveland is 0-2.

Burroughs 2, Hart 1

Burroughs (Burbank) High took over sole possession of first place in the Foothill League by defeating Hart at home. Christy Alves (10-2) pitched a two-hitter for Burroughs. She struck out six and allowed no earned runs.

Kim Powers doubled and singled, and Diane Holloway singled twice to lead the Indian offense. Burroughs is 4-0 in league and 10-2 overall.

Village Christian 17, Webb 0

Michelle Vail pitched her second no-hitter in a row and struck out 12 as Village Christian High defeated Webb in an Alpha League game at Stonehurst Park in Sun Valley.

The no-hitter was Vail’s third of the year.

Mary Thomas had four hits, including a home run, and three runs batted in for Village Christian.

Village Christian is 6-0 in league.

El Camino Real 22, Taft 0

Beth Silverman pitched her second consecutive no-hitter and struck out 13 as El Camino High crushed Taft High in a West Valley League game at Taft.

Sabrina Kuhn hit a home run and drove in four runs for El Camino.

El Camino is 2-0 in league.

Kennedy 4, Sylmar 1

Pauline Madrid pitched a complete game as Kennedy High remained unbeaten in the Valley 4-A league with the win at Sylmar.