STATWATCH : Nealon, Lymberopoulos Avoid Fallout When Poly Pitching Staff Gets Bombed

The numbers are astonishing. After allowing only five runs in its first five games, Poly gave up 29 runs in its next three. How could a team with two top senior pitchers allow so many runs?

The Poly staff has been rocked in recent games, but pitchers Greg Nealon and Nick Lymberopoulos have avoided damage. Poly Coach Jerry Cord has been using juniors Herman Miranda and Mario Gomez, and junior varsity pitcher David Giatti whenever Poly (9-2) has a big lead.

“Every chance I know I can get my junior pitchers and sophomore pitcher in there, I’m going to get them in there,” Cord said. “That’s our bread and butter for next year.”

Nealon (6-0), a left-hander, and Lymberopoulos (2-1), a right-hander, have been the meal ticket this year. Nealon has given up three earned runs in 34 innings. The 6-foot senior has allowed 19 hits and 5 walks while striking out 42.

Lymberopoulos, a 6-4 senior, has yet to give up an earned run in 14 innings. He has allowed 8 hits, struck out 17 and walked 7.

Meanwhile, Poly’s three underclassmen have struggled. While Nealon and Lymberopoulos have a combined earned-run average of 0.44, Poly’s other pitchers have a combined ERA of 8.91. Gomez has given up 18 earned runs in 15 innings, Giatti has allowed 5 earned runs in 7 innings and Miranda has allowed 5 earned runs in 6 innings.

Offense: St. Genevieve (10-1) has won five consecutive games, outscoring opponents, 71-11, and scoring 10 or more runs in each game. The Valiants are averaging 4.1 stolen bases a game. They have been successful in 45 of 51 attempts in 11 games. . . . Chaminade’s 3-0 victory over Salesian last week marked the first time this season that the Eagles have scored fewer than six runs and won. Chaminade (8-3) has scored at least 10 runs in 6 of its 8 victories.

Highland Hall catcher Seth Ernsdorf was 4 for 4 with four RBIs Friday in the Hawks’ 10-8 win over Queen of Angels. Last year, in 20 games as a starter, Ernsdorf had only four hits.

In a doubleheader at the Thousand Oaks tournament Monday, El Camino Real knocked out 30 hits--including 7 home runs, 3 doubles and 2 triples--and scored 30 runs. Denny Bigo was 4 for 5 in the second game with two home runs, a triple, a single and seven RBIs. Ryan McGuire and Mike Stephenson each hit two home runs. El Camino Real split two games, losing to Camarillo, 7-6, in eight innings and ripping Montclair Prep, 24-10, in the second game.

After scoring 40 runs in its first three games, North Hollywood has scored only nine in its last five games. The Huskies’ pitching staff has allowed 47 runs during that span.

Poly’s Luis Porres, an All-City outfielder, is batting .368 with 11 runs scored. Of his 14 hits, 9 have been for extra bases--2 triples, 3 doubles and 4 home runs. . . . Gabe Chavez, one of the Parrots’ junior varsity players called up for the Holt-Goodman tournament, was 2 for 7, including a three-run home run, against Verdugo Hills.

Pitching: Jason Edwards and Chris Matkin, Hart’s two starting pitchers, have thrown 55 innings between them and have walked 10 batters--an average of one walk every 5.5 innings.

Roland De La Maza (3-0), Mike Rohrbough (4-1) and Aiden Miller (3-0) give St. Genevieve a potent pitching staff. They have a combined ERA of 1.77 and have struck out 89 batters in 71 innings. They have allowed 58 hits and walked 23.

Records: When Highland Hall (4-4) beat Queen of Angels, 10-8, last Friday, it was the Hawks’ first win of the year against a Small Schools team. Highland Hall, a Small Schools team itself, had previously chalked up three wins against 1-A and 2-A schools but had failed in two games to beat a Small Schools team.

Dynamic duos: Sylmar’s identical twins, Chris and Nino Romo, have posted impressive numbers. Chris, a senior third baseman, is batting .461 in East Valley League play with 12 hits, 7 RBIs, 1 home run, 1 triple and 2 doubles. Nino, a junior pitcher, is 4-0 and has allowed 16 hits. He has 16 strikeouts and 11 walks in 22 innings.

Javier Delahoya and John Kukawski have combined to give Grant a tough lineup. Kukawski, a three-year varsity letterman who has switched from catcher to first base this season, is batting .567 with 4 doubles, 3 home runs and 14 RBIs. Delahoya, a junior shortstop-pitcher, is batting .467 with 2 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs and 16 RBIs.

Holt-Goodman: Poly shortstop Mark David had two hits in the Parrots’ 14-3 victory over Verdugo Hills Tuesday to give him 7 hits in his 13 tournament at-bats. . . . Mike Bergren was 4 for 4 in Cleveland’s 13-7 tournament victory over North Hollywood on Tuesday and finished with a .643 tournament average. Teammate Sean Burwell finished with a .600 average in the four-day tournament.

Track and field: When Ian Alsen of Granada Hills won the 3,200 meters at the Pasadena Games at Occidental College on Saturday night, he moved into eighth place on the all-time Valley-area high school list. His time of 9 minutes, 2.06 seconds, converts to a two-mile time of 9:05.25. Jeff Nelson of Burbank set the Valley-area, and national high school record, of 8:36.3 in 1979.

If early season times are an indication of late-season success, then Quincy Watts of Taft is headed for a better season than ’87. Watts, the defending state champion in the 100 and 200 meters, won the 100 (10.66) and 200 (21.18) in season-best times at Occidental. Watts’ best marks at this point last year were 10.74 and 21.4. Taft’s 400-meter relay team is also ahead of last year’s pace. The Toreadors’ team of David Feinstein, Jonathan Hart, David Flores and Watts placed second in 41.31 Saturday. Last year, Taft placed third at Pasadena in 41.64.