American Legion State Championship Tournament : Fullerton Trails, 9-4, After Eight in Suspended Game

What got the Fullerton Dodgers to the American Legion state championship playoffs here was hitting and plenty of it. As Fullerton Coach Len Burke said: “We pounded the ball to get here.”

But hitting was a foreign idea in the Dodgers’ first game in this double-elimination tournament Saturday at Borman Field.

The umpires suspended the game because of darkness after eight innings, with Woodland Hills leading, 9-4. The game will resume today at 9 a.m. and the delay may give the Dodger hitters time to wake up.

The Dodgers were outhit by Woodland Hills, 18-4.

If the Dodgers lose, they will play Lodi immediately after the suspended game’s conclusion. For all the Dodgers’ hitting woes, Burke was not impressed with Woodland Hills starting pitcher Pablo Suarez, who carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning.

“I wasn’t impressed at all,” Burke said. “He wasn’t overpowering. We just didn’t swing the bat well.”

Woodland Hills scored five runs in the seventh inning to break the game open.

Trailing 4-0, the Dodgers took advantage of Woodland Hills throwing errors in the fifth and sixth to tie the score, 4-4.

After Fullerton’s Curt Daggett doubled, Troy Brown reached on a throwing error by third baseman Scott Campbell. David Wackerman doubled to make it 4-2. Wackerman scored the Dodgers’ third run of the inning when Adrian Schicker struck out.

Schicker swung at a wild pitch, however, and the ball caromed off the backstop. Wackerman, running with the pitch scored from second, making it, 4-3.

Rod Turner doubled to open the sixth and Russell Fredericks sacrificed him to third. After Daggett struck out and Troy Brown was intentionally walked, Campbell committed another throwing error, allowing Turner to score and tie the score at 4-4.

In earlier games, Sacramento beat Lodi, 7-6, and San Mateo defeated El Segundo, 15-5.