SPRING HIGHLIGHTS : Montclair Prep Looks Playoff Sharp, 17-1

Behind the pitching and hitting of Reggie Smith Jr., Montclair Prep cruised to a 17-1 victory over L.A. Baptist on Friday at Valley College to finish its Alpha League championship season strongly.

Smith was 3 for 3 and pitched three innings in relief, striking out four batters. Montclair Prep ends the league season with a 13-1 record and brings a 21-3 mark and the No. 1 ranking into next week’s Southern Section 1-A Division playoffs. The Mounties won four Small Schools Division titles before moving up to the 1-A Division.

L.A. Baptist (10-4 and 11-8) finished second in league and enters the playoffs next week.

Montclair Prep scored in every inning and ended with a flourish, scoring nine times in the last two innings. The victory came at the expense of L.A. Baptist pitcher Kirk Petersen, who had held Montclair Prep to three runs the last time the teams met. On Friday, he couldn’t contain Montclair Prep nor control his pitches.

Petersen (6-3) allowed eight runs and walked seven in four innings. The right-hander walked in two runs, while two others scored on wild pitches.

Montclair Prep has a good chance of winning its first 1-A title, Mounties Coach Jeff Pressman said. He has confidence in his offense, adding that pitching will be the deciding factor.

Pressman relies on Smith, Scott Hauser and Scott Randall, who pitched the first four innings Friday, allowing one run on four hits and striking out five.

“We have three good pitchers who have had good seasons,” Pressman said. “If we keep the game close, our offense will win it for us. We send nine good hitters to the plate.”

At bat, Pressman will look to John Quick, Montclair Prep’s most experienced player. Against the Knights, Quick was 2 for 2 with two runs batted in. He also walked three times.

It won’t be as easy in the playoffs as it was in the past, Pressman said.

“In the Small Schools playoffs, there are a lot of easy games,” he said. “But, in this division, it’s a whole different story.”

--HEATHER HAFNER

St. Genevieve 3, LaSalle 2--St. Genevieve, 8-3 in Santa Fe League, took over first place in league with the win.

Alfonzo Gutierrez was 2 for 3 with an RBI triple in the second inning and a run scored, while pitcher Rick Gonzalez allowed only six hits and struck out eight for St. Genevieve.

Chaminade 12, Daniel Murphy 0--Chaminade’s Scott Stuber was 2 for 2 and knocked in the game-winning RBI in the first inning. Chaminade scored five runs in the second inning, and a grand slam by John Sunde in a six-run fourth inning put the game out of reach.

Pitcher Pablo Suarez (7-2) allowed only five hits and was 2 for 4 for Chaminade (8-4 in Santa Fe League, 14-7 overall).

Providence 7, Buckley 1--Pitcher Jeff Cirillo (9-2) hurled a one-hitter and struck out 10 for Providence, which is 8-0 and in first-place in the Delphic League. Cirillo also was 2 for 2 with two RBIs, Doug Ferrante was 2 for 4 and Rich Campus was 2 for 3 for Providence.

Rich Eskanazi had the only hit for Buckley (4-4 in league)--an RBI double in the second inning.

Simi Lutheran 11, Ribet Christian 1--Simi Lutheran pitcher Bernardo Sanchez (5-3) allowed two hits and no earned runs in the final regular-season game for both teams. Simi Lutheran (12-4 overall) finished 10-2 in the Heritage League and in second place behind undefeated Temple Christian.

Sanchez was 3 for 3 at the plate, Jonathan Doering was 3 for 4 with a triple, double, an RBI and three runs scored. Teammate Jeff Allen was 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles.

L.A. Lutheran 4, Marshall Fundamental 3--Jim Jacobson singled in Jerry Botoglou with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to give L.A. Lutheran the Alpha League victory.

Paul Johnson was 2 for 3 with two RBIs for L.A. Lutheran, which finished its season 7-14 overall and 5-13 in league.

St. John Bosco 9, Crespi 8--Crespi led, 8-3, but gave up five runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to close out the season 4-8 in the Del Rey League and 7-15 overall.

Mark Hofmans singled in John Gelbach with two outs in the seventh to give league-champion St. John Bosco (11-1 in league) the victory.

Joe Testa hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot, in the third, and teammate Scott Campbell was 2 for 4 for Crespi.

Calabasas 11, Santa Clara 10--Scott Cadenhead squibbed a single through the infield with one out in the eighth inning to score Alex Rice and give Calabasas an upset win.

Calabasas, which finished 5-7 in the Frontier League and 7-11-1 overall, was paced by Jared Ricco, who was 3 for 5 with a home run and two RBIs. Teammate Craig Adleman was 2 for 4 with two RBIs. The hits were the junior catcher’s first of his high school career.

High School Golf

Taft shot a 396 at Wilson golf course in Griffith Park to win the City 5-A finals and advance to the City championships on May 19 and 20.

North Hollywood (406), Palisades (412) and Birmingham (423) also qualified for the City championships, which will also be played at the Griffith Park course.

Alex Woodson of North Hollywood was the low medalist at 72. Danny Greenberg and Marc Riches, both of Taft, shot 76 and 77 to finish second and third, respectively.

Granada Hills (444) and Kennedy (459) rounded out the team scoring.