Kennedy Beats San Fernando on Late Homer

Kennedy High is having a fine time, again, at the expense of the rest of the Mid-Valley League.

“I feel awfully good about the playoffs,” Kennedy catcher Robert Trujillo said. “I guess we were sick and tired of losing.”

The Golden Cougars have won five straight games, including a 5-4 victory Thursday over league-leading San Fernando at home. On Tuesday, Kennedy defeated Granada Hills, 4-3. Kennedy is 7-7 in league, tied for third place with Birmingham.

Only three weeks ago, the season looked bleak for the Golden Cougars, last season’s City 4-A champions. Their record was 2-7 and they didn’t figure to make the playoffs.

But Kennedy secured a playoff spot Thursday with the win, while denying San Fernando the league title for a few days.

San Fernando (11-3) has a one-game lead over Granada Hills heading into Tuesday’s showdown between the two teams for the championship.

Granada Hills (10-4) lost to Birmingham, 4-2, Thursday, its fourth defeat in the past five games.

Regardless of who wins the league, Kennedy will enter the playoffs strong.

“I’d love to have won the league championship and beaten Granada Hills more than once a year,” Kennedy Coach Dick Whitney said, “but I think we’re as good a team as anybody. You’ve just got to get a little lucky and have some guys come through.”

Thursday, that guy was Trujillo.

After fouling off four pitches from San Fernando reliever Junior Gonzalez, Trujillo hit a belt-high curveball over the left-field fence for a two-run homer in the sixth inning. That gave Kennedy a 5-4 lead, and reliever Jaime Ponce finished off the Tigers in the seventh to record his fourth win against no losses.

“I was waiting for his curveball and I hit it,” Trujillo said. “If it was a base hit it would have been fine, but I’ll take it.”

Al Mayhew started the game for Kennedy, but departed after giving up two runs in the fifth inning. That tied the score at 2-2 and San Fernando scored twice more in the sixth to take the lead.

In the bottom of the inning, Kennedy’s Kevin Wittke led off with a double. Dain Turner then collected his third hit of the game, a double down the left-field line that scored Wittke. That brought Trujillo to the plate--looking curveball.

“Trujillo’s been banging the ball out of here in practice,” Whitney said. “That was the big blow. The kid’s got a lot of power.”

Billy Picketts was 3 for 4 for the Golden Cougars.

For San Fernando, Frank Zavala was 3 for 4 with three runs batted in, and Robert Chavez was 3 for 3.

SAN FERNANDO--Aparicio, J. Gonzalez (4) and Knox.

KENNEDY--Mayhew, Skolnick (5), Ponce (6) and Trujillo.

WP--Ponce (4-0); LP--J. Gonzalez (2-1).