AMERICAN LEGION PLAYOFFS : Suarez Eats Up 6-2 Win Over N. Hollywood
Keeping score when Pablo Suarez pitches makes for a neat, clean score book. Tracking baserunners is something usually done only when he and his Woodland Hills teammates are up to bat.
On the second day of the American Legion District 20 double-elimination playoffs Friday at Birmingham High, Suarez allowed only four North Hollywood hits, struck out 10 and retired 17 straight in one stretch. He was doubly rewarded for his 89-pitch performance.
The first reward was a 6-2 Woodland Hills victory. The second was a prime rib and lobster dinner afterward, compliments of pitching coach Mitch Fair.
“He tries to inspire us to make the least amount of pitches,” said Suarez, who was 8-0 with an 0.87 earned-run average in the regular season. “Anytime you throw under 100 pitches in a nine-inning game, he treats you and the catcher to dinner.”
Suarez walked only one batter, intentionally putting Peter Washington on base in the third inning. He then retired the next 17.
Washington showed why he merited such respect six innings later when he hit the top of a bus beyond the right-center field fence with a 390-foot home run. That broke Suarez’ streak (and may have dented the bus).
Woodland Hills will play Newhall-Saugus on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Also on Friday, Burbank defeated Reseda North, the district’s defending champion, in a game where umpires, coaches and players exchanged heated words.
With Reseda North trailing Burbank, 5-2 in the eighth, the umpires got tired of Reseda North’s game-long verbal tirades and kicked out two players. After ejecting Brian Clancy, the umpires kicked out John Glantz, who had angry words with the Burbank dugout.
After the umpires had taken enough from Reseda North Coach Vic Lapiner, they gave Burbank the victory by forfeit, 7-0.
Burbank will play North Hollywood at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The loser of the Burbank/North Hollywood game will be eliminated and, at 4:30 p.m., the winner will play the loser of the Woodland Hills/Newhall-Saugus game.
In another Friday game, Newhall-Saugus won its second straight ninth-inning victory. Sheldon Sparks’ bloop single to right scored Jared Snyder from third to eliminate Encino South, 13-12.
“We were going to squeeze on the second pitch,” said Tom Pederson, Newhall-Saugus coach. “Sparks had one pitch to swing at and I thought he was going to take it.”
“If we’re close in the last three innings, we’re going to win it, no doubt in my mind,” Sparks said. “I had one pitch to do anything I wanted with it and they were playing in.”
Encino South also lost to North Hollywood, 13-10 in the completion of Thursday’s game suspended because of darkness.