East Wins Lackluster Showcase, 8-7

The stars refused to shine at the 11th Bernie Milligan game Saturday.

Eight wild pitches, four passed balls and six errors were committed in a contest featuring 40 of the best local high school seniors. When both squads were finished recklessly throwing the ball around the diamond at Cal State Northridge, the East had held off the West, 8-7.

The East was forced to replace injured catcher Frank Charles of Montclair Prep with Poly’s Joey Speakes. Speakes, an outfielder with little catching experience, was unsuccessful blocking pitches in the dirt. In the sixth inning, Providence’s Jeff Cirillo’s curve got past Speakes three times, allowing two runs to score. Cirillo was charged with three wild pitches in the inning.

“I think he did a great job considering he hasn’t caught since Little League,” Cirillo said of Speakes, who also was charged with four passed balls.

Judging by some of the plays in the game, both squads could stand a refresher course in fundamentals. In the third inning, West shortstop Ernie Perez of Birmingham threw wildly over the head of Crespi first baseman Joe Testa. The ball went over the dugout and into the bleachers.

The West got even sloppier in the seventh inning when Crespi reliever Chris Spears tried to pick off Montclair Prep’s Jeff Light at first base. But Canoga Park first baseman Aaron Marks was inattentive and the throw sailed past him, allowing Poly’s Danny Gil to score from third base.

This was supposed to be an all-star game? “It was kind of sloppy,” said Hart Coach Bud Murray, who co-coached the East with Montclair Prep Coach Jeff Pressman. “But these kids can play.”

The East took a 3-0 lead with single runs in the second, third and fourth innings. Saugus’ Don Pedersen had a run-scoring double in the second, Speakes had a sacrifice fly in the third and Bell-Jeff’s Tom Ressler had an RBI single in the fourth.

The West answered with a single run in the fourth when El Camino Real’s Rob Bumgarner scored on a passed ball. The East scored three more runs in the fifth--two on wild pitches by Monroe’s Jeff Frith-Smith.

After seven innings, the East led, 8-4, setting the stage for the game’s finest moment--a towering three-run home run by West catcher Jim Henderson of Westlake. East reliever Tim DeGrasse of Notre Dame pitched well in relief, striking out three in three innings. But when DeGrasse hung a curve, Henderson sent it over the 410-foot sign in centerfield.

Gil, who will attend USC next year, was 3 for 3 with a double and was named the game’s most valuable player. Quartz Hill’s Scott Weiss pitched three shutout innings to earn the win.