THE CITY 4--BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : Canoga Park, MacKenzie Win 1st City Title

Doug MacKenzie, 61 going on 18, probably will never die of coronary failure. If the heart was ever going to give out, it was during the seventh inning Thursday night.

Canoga Park High survived a towering three-run home run and even higher drama in the seventh to defeat Poly, 5-4, at Dodger Stadium, giving MacKenzie and the Hunters their first City Section championship.

MacKenzie, in his 37th year as the Hunters’ coach, had plenty of good times waiting for the title, but none compares to finally winning a championship. “It was worth the wait but I hope my next title will be sooner,” said MacKenzie, who also recorded his 300th career victory.

MacKenzie doesn’t smoke, so he can’t call Adam Schulhofer or Mike Roberts “full pack” like Earl Weaver used to refer to pitcher Don Stanhouse while with the Baltimore Orioles eight years ago.

Schulhofer opened the second inning by allowing a triple and the third and sixth with walks. Roberts allowed two singles after relieving Schulhofer with one out in the seventh and the score 5-4. But instead of chain-smoking, MacKenzie merely scribbled vigorously in his score book.

“I was awfully scared,” MacKenzie said. “I just hoped Schulhofer would get it back.”

He didn’t, but Roberts, a junior who was unscored upon in 16 innings this season, was within one pitch of the title three times before striking out Ali Aguilar to end the game. Schulhofer stranded seven runners and pitched Canoga Park out of trouble in all but the seventh.

“Going into the seventh inning I had a feeling it wouldn’t be easy and it certainly wasn’t,” said MacKenzie, who several times during the last inning left the dugout and gestured wildly to Roberts. “I was yelling at Roberts to throw hard. He wasn’t throwing hard at first. He was throwing batting-practice speed.”

That could have been dangerous, because MacKenzie pitches during most of Canoga Park’s batting practices.

Schulhofer opened the seventh by striking out Hans Hekking. But he walked Joey Speakes and Luis Porres before Danny Gil lifted the home run into the left-field bullpen to cut Canoga Park’s four-run lead to one. Roberts entered and struck out Bill Chavez before allowing singles to Luis Garcia and Rodrigo Fuentes. He had two strikes on both.

“They were way late on those two hits,” Roberts said. “I thought if I just threw a little extra we couldn’t lose.”

The Hunters, one by one, embraced their coach after mobbing one another after the final pitch.

“We do it for ourselves, of course, but in the end we did it for Mac,” catcher Mike Urman said.

Canoga Park took control of the game by battering Poly starter Nick Lymberopolous with three extra-base hits to lead off the fourth inning.

Kerber opened the inning by taking a 2-0 pitch over the left-field fence. Urman and Kasey Fink followed with triples to chase the Poly starter.

Left-hander Greg Nealon, who pitched 4 innings in Poly’s win over Chatsworth in Tuesday’s semifinal, stranded Fink at third by retiring three straight batters, two on strikeouts. Scott Strickland drilled a hard ground ball toward right field with two out, but Hekking, the Poly first baseman, made a diving stop and outran Strickland to the bag.

The Hunters extended their lead to 4-1 in the fifth when Mickey Snook’s sacrifice fly to center scored Aaron Marks, who had reached first on an error by third baseman Aguilar and advanced to third on a double by Schulhofer.

A two-out single to left by Strickland led to the decisive run in the sixth. Marks followed with another hard single to left to score Strickland, who had stolen second.

“We played a near-perfect game,” MacKenzie said. “Our defense was terrific, our hitting was good and our pitching was good enough.”

Canoga Park did not make an error and had nine hits, five for extra bases. Poly made three errors and had seven hits, including the three in the seventh.

“We weren’t going to quit that easy on them,” Poly Coach Jerry Cord said. “We had chances when Schulhofer threw all those balls but couldn’t capitalize.”

Schulhofer was good enough to raise his record to 9-2, but he began the third inning by throwing six straight balls. The junior right-hander came back strongly, however, striking out Gil and Garcia. Urman, who was drafted in the second round of Tuesday’s free agent draft by the Atlanta Braves, primarily for his excellent arm, threw out Porres attempting to steal second for the second out of the inning.

Canoga Park opened the scoring in the first when Snook scored on a chopper to third by Strickland. Lymberopolous didn’t appear limber from the beginning, as he walked Strickland on four pitches to open the game. Marks followed with a long drive to dead center field that Joey Speakes caught over his shoulder.

Schulhofer then singled to right on a hit-and-run, advancing Strickland to third. The Hunters appeared to have a chance for a big inning when Gil booted a ground ball by Urman, but the Poly shortstop recovered and threw out Schulhofer, who had rounded third too far.

Canoga Park also had a chance to extend its lead in the second when Chris Pemberton’s two-out double was followed by a single to center by Strickland. Speakes’ throw was relayed perfectly by Gil, however, and Pemberton was out at the plate.

Poly tied the score, 1-1, in the second. Fuentes led off with a triple off the base of the center-field wall 400 feet from home plate and scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Hekking.

Before being shelled in the fourth, Lymberopolous retired the side in order in the third inning, helped by a diving play on a ground ball by Aguilar, the third baseman. Lymberopolous allowed six hits in three innings, striking out one and walking one.

MacKenzie, as he said earlier this week, would like to remain at Canoga Park as a coach. He retired as a health instructor in April.

“This was the biggest win for Mac,” said Kerber, a junior. “We are going to do everything in our power to get him back next year. He’s a great coach.”

Canoga Park Principal Charles Molina has not said whether MacKenzie will remain. Patient for 37 years for a title, MacKenzie is less patient about Molina’s silence.

“I still want to coach,” MacKenzie said amid the postgame celebration on the field. “That’s why the principal just walked away so fast.”