Westside Baseball Tournament : Winner Gets Breaks as Alemany Wins, 7-3

The only direction Charlie Winner’s curveball was heading in the first two innings of Saturday’s game between Chatsworth and Alemany highs was straight--straight off the Chatsworth bats and into right field.

But Winner’s curve went from the straight and narrow to the wild and wicked. By the time the pitcher tired in the seventh inning, host Alemany had secured a 7-3 victory over Chatsworth, the top-ranked team in The Times’ preseason baseball poll, on the second day of play in the round-robin Westside tournament.

“If he gets his curveball over, he’s a tough pitcher,” Alemany Coach Jim Ozella said.

Despite his early problems, Winner escaped unscathed. Chatsworth had 6 baserunners in the first 2 innings, including a bases-loaded situation in the second, but could not score.

“When you get a good pitcher on the ropes, you’ve got to get him early. We didn’t,” Chatsworth Coach Bob Lofrano said. “He did a great job of throwing strikes and he moved the ball around.”

After the second inning, Winner retired 12 of the next 14 batters. He recorded 8 of his 11 strikeouts during that stretch and struck out the side in the fifth.

Winner grew up in the Chatsworth area and played against some of the Chancellors in junior baseball leagues. “I knew what areas they were weak in, so that helped,” he said.

Chatsworth also made matters easier by committing 6 errors, including 4 in the first 2 innings, that led to 3 unearned runs.

Already ahead, 1-0, after a first-inning unearned run, the Indians (2-0) scored 3 runs in the second on a hit and 2 errors. With one out, Joe Cupo and Mike Sims walked, then advanced on a wild pickoff throw by Chatsworth pitcher Pierre Amado.

Cupo scored on a single by Joey Rosselli and Sims and Rosselli scored one batter later when second baseman David Waco let a grounder roll under his glove.

“We just played terrible,” Lofrano said.

Chatsworth (1-1) usually hits well, too, with eight starters returning from last year’s City Section 4-A Division semifinalists.

But the Chancellors managed just 6 hits off Winner.

Camarillo 14, Beverly Hills 10--Buddy Wray was 2 for 3 with 4 RBIs as Camarillo came from behind to win the second-round game at Camarillo.

Eric Karp’s first-inning grand slam gave the Normans a 4-0 lead, but Camarillo scored five runs in the bottom half of the inning and never trailed again.

In addition to Wray, Camarillo (2-0) received offensive support from Chris Sorich (2 for 3, 3 RBIs), Gil Valencia (2 for 3, 1 RBI), and A. J. Lindbloom (2 for 3, 1 RBI).

Franklin 1, Montclair Prep 0--Sophomore Kevin Grant pitched a three-hitter in his first varsity start, but Franklin’s Sam Genie threw a shutout as the Mounties (0-1) lost at home on the second day of the tournament.

Franklin (1-1) parlayed a single, a walk and two infield outs in the second inning to score its run.