STATWATCH : Leadoff Batters Should Play Lead Role in Mid-Valley Game

It is safe to assume that the leadoff hitters on both teams will play a significant part in today’s game between Granada Hills and San Fernando, the top two teams in the Mid-Valley League at the mid-point of the league season.

Entering play this week, leadoff batter Chris Murphy of Granada Hills (10-1, 6-1 in league play) was 14 for 30 (.467) and had a team-high 6 doubles and 16 runs scored. The senior second baseman also had two home runs and nine runs batted in.

Josh Bergara carries a .476 average as the leadoff hitter for San Fernando (5-4, 5-2). The senior outfielder leads the team in five categories in league play: home runs (4), RBIs (15), hits (10), runs scored (15) and stolen bases (4).

Batting: Like a Mack truck, Chatsworth outfielder Rex McMackin keeps rolling along. McMackin, who batted .520 last year and had a 20-game hitting streak, is batting .485 and has hit safely in 14 of 15 games, including five in a row. McMackin, who bats left-handed, also has 2 home runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple and a team-high 19 RBIs. McMackin’s teammates also continue to blister the ball. Entering Monday’s game against Taft, the Chancellors were batting .344.

Poly has averaged 10.3 runs a game and scored 57 runs in its past four games. Catcher Rodrigo Fuentes leads the team with a .461 batting average and has scored a team-high 15 runs. All-City outfielder Luis Porres is batting .368 and leads the team in triples (3) and home runs (4). Shortstop Mark David is batting .343 with a team-high 4 doubles and 13 RBIs. First baseman-pitcher Nick Lymberopoulos is batting .391 with two home runs. Second baseman Luis Garcia is batting .424 and has seven RBIs.

Newbury Park senior Chris Fick has hit safely in seven consecutive at-bats and has raised his average to .381. He singled in his last at-bat against Simi Valley and was 3 for 3 against both Channel Islands and Royal.

Royal’s Jason Jones was a bust as a leadoff hitter, striking out a team-high 15 times. But he has found his niche since moving to the No. 5 spot. In four games, he has hit all three of his home runs and accounted for six of his 10 RBIs. He leads the team in stolen bases with 11.

Pitching: Cleveland right-hander Kirk Surabian needed only 70 pitches to record a complete-game, two-hit shutout over Reseda on Monday. Surabian’s 3-0 win improved his record to 3-2. . . . El Camino Real’s pitching staff has taken it on the chin as the Conquistadores (1-6) have sunk into last place in the West Valley League. Some ECR ERAs: Lance Gibson (6.44), Patrick Treend (6.58) and Steve Smith (5.53).

Jason Edwards of Hart improved his record to 7-0 and lowered his ERA to 0.85 with a complete game shutout Friday against Schurr. In 48 innings, he has walked 13 and struck out 58.

Records: J. D. Choy of Chaminade set a school single-season record last week when he walked for the 22nd time. The Eagles’ leadoff hitter has reached base safely in 15 of 16 games and scored a team-high 17 runs in 16 games.

Softball: Notre Dame’s Tracy Benn has hit in seven consecutive games and is batting a team-high .425. Sophomore pitcher Becca Berline has five shutouts in 13 starts. . . . Chatsworth improved to 4-0 in North Valley League play with a 4-3, nine-inning win over San Fernando on Monday. Pitcher Christina Roopenian improved to 8-1.

Saugus’ Cathy Lewis (4-1) pitched a perfect game against Palmdale last week. It was her first career no-hitter to go with five one-hitters. Lewis is batting .777 in league play.