Chatsworth Gets by N. Hollywood in a Hurry, 5-1

Chatsworth High, which waited until the last possible moment to win last Thursday, decided to get the job done early Tuesday.

The Chancellors scored twice in the first inning and three more times in the third to defeat North Hollywood, 5-1, in the City 4-A baseball quarterfinals at Chatsworth.

Two-run singles by Bill Berry and Mike Ernst provided pitcher Will L’Heureux with all the support he needed.

Not that L’Heureux needed that much.

The 6-3 senior right-hander (8-0) limited the Huskies to just four singles, struck out five and came within an error by Juan Hernandez of pitching a shutout.

That error by the Chancellors’ second baseman in the third inning cut Chatsworth’s lead to 2-1. But Chatsworth responded with three runs in the third to move into Friday’s semifinals against Kennedy, a 3-2 winner over Grant on Tuesday.

“It’s tough to end the season like this, but, hey, they’re the better team,” losing pitcher Tim Driscoll said. “They’re going to Dodger Stadium.”

The Chancellors, the top-ranked team entering the playoffs, have a good chance of reaching the 4-A title game if they continue to play defense the way they did against the Huskies.

With the exception of Hernandez’s error, the Chancellors were flawless afield. They turned two double plays and took away several other potential hits.

The Huskies, meanwhile, made too many mistakes, according to their coach, Brian York.

“In order for us to win, we would have had to play a near-perfect game,” said York, whose team finished the year at 14-6. “But we made numerous mental and physical errors throughout. The better team won.”

Marc Pfeiffer started the first-inning rally for Chatsworth (19-2). With one out, Pfeiffer singled to center and went to third on a hit-and-run single to left by Chae-Ho Chong.

After Chong stole second, Berry singled up the middle to make it 2-0.

It was a far cry from last Thursday, when Chatsworth trailed Gardena, 3-2, with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning before rallying for a 4-3 win.

In the Huskies’ half of the third, Jess Hilton led off with a walk and went to second on a wild pitch. Hilton then blundered when he tried to reach third on a grounder to short by Peter Straus. Glenn Stevenson fielded the ball and threw to Ernst for an easy out.

Straus stole second and scored when Hernandez let Steve Bernstein’s grounder go through his legs. But Bernstein was thrown out at second as first baseman Ted Weisfuss cut off the throw from right field and fired to Stevenson for another easy out.

The Huskies then made the errors that showed up in the box score.

With one out in the bottom of the third, Pfeiffer reached first on an error by shortstop Mark Eubanks. After Chong singled him to second, Pfeiffer stole third. Chong then stole second. Driscoll (9-5) next intentionally walked Berry to load the bases.

Ernst then singled to left on a 1-2 pitch to make the score 4-1. The runners moved up a base when Hilton, the left fielder, threw the ball past the catcher while attempting to get Chong. It was one of three North Hollywood errors.

Eric Rothfield’s ground out scored the final run of the game.

“The one pitch I want back is that one with the bases loaded,” Driscoll said. “I had a 1-2 count and my catcher called for a fastball. I wanted a curve, but I didn’t want to wave him off because the last time I did that, a guy ripped the ball. So I threw a fastball.”

Fastballs were what worked best for L’Heureux, according to the Chatsworth pitcher. The game didn’t start off all that well for L’Heureux, who threw seven balls among his first eight pitches.

“I had butterflies, I was nervous,” L’Heureux said. “But usually after the first inning, I calm down.”

L’Heureux, who did not allow a hit after the fourth inning, likes his team’s chances. “I think we’re going all the way, or at least to the finals,” he said.

York agrees with the Chancellor hurler.

“Chatsworth is definitely the best team we’ve played this year,” he said. “They don’t have any weaknesses for a high school team. They have excellent pitching, defense, team speed and hitting. (Coach) Bob Lofrano has done a tremendous job with the program.

“They even have cute cheerleaders.”