Valley High School Baseball : Kennedy Wins and Ties for League Lead

Kennedy right-hander Scott Roth pitched five innings of no-hit ball before shoulder stiffness forced him from the game as the Golden Cougars stunned Granada Hills, 12-2, Monday at Kennedy.

Right-hander Jason Farrell allowed two hits over the final two innings to hand Granada Hils its second consecutive loss, both on two-hitters. Kennedy’s Mid-Valley League victory Monday, coupled with San Fernando’s 3-2 loss to Van Nuys, thrust Kennedy (13-9, 8-3 in league play) into a three-way tie for first place with San Fernando and Granada Hills.

Roth (6-1) faced two batters over the minimum and left with a 6-0 lead as Kennedy jumped on Granada Hills right-hander Jeff Adams (7-3). The Golden Cougars scored one run in the second, two in the second, three in the third and six in the sixth. Granada Hills (12-3, 8-3) committed seven errors and Adams walked five batters.

Shawn Murray and Pat DeBoer homered in the sixth to put the game away for Kennedy.

Roth, who was taken for X-rays after the game, is expected to be sidelined for 10 days.

Van Nuys 3, San Fernando 2--The Wolves scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out, bases-loaded single by Melvin Batrez in a Mid-Valley League game at Van Nuys. It was the first league win for the Wolves (1-10) and knocked San Fernando (8-5, 8-3) into a three-way tie.

Batrez lined an 0-2 pitch into left off right-hander Frank Serna, San Fernando’s third pitcher of the inning.

“I was thinking curveball and he threw me a fastball,” Batrez said. “I was just thinking contact.”

Jeff Bernard threw a complete-game two-hitter for Van Nuys.

Right-hander Vince Ortega (1-3) took the loss for the Tigers.

Chatsworth 7, El Camino Real 2--Joel Wolfe and Art Lowe hit back-to-back home runs in the Chancellors’ four-run sixth as Chatsworth won a West Valley League game at home. Chatsworth (19-1, 11-0), the No. 1 team in the nation according to Collegiate Baseball magazine, has won 18 consecutive games.

Vince Simili had a two-run double in the fifth that gave Chatsworth a 3-0 lead. El Camino Real (6-9, 3-8) scored two in the top of the sixth and had a runner on third with one out, but Derek Wallace shut down the Conquistadores to record his sixth save.

Grant 5, North Hollywood 2--Javier Delahoya struck out 20 batters and hit a two-run home run in the top of the eighth as Grant won an East Valley League game at North Hollywood.

Delahoya, a right-handed junior, gave up two ground-ball singles and walked four. In his last 15 innings, Delahoya has 33 strikeouts and has allowed 5 hits, 3 earned runs and 7 walks. Delahoya beat Poly, 3-2, with a three-hitter Wednesday.

“He had an overpowering fastball and he had his curveball working,” Grant Coach Tom Lucero said. “And when he has those two things going, he’s practically invincible.”

Sean Goldman, Gus Guerrero and Manny Toledo had two hits each for Grant (9-9, 7-7). North Hollywood (7-10, 7-6) is still in third place in the league, one-half game ahead of Grant and and 1 1/2 games ahead of Fairfax.

Canoga Park 2, Cleveland 1--Mike Roberts pitched a five-hitter to lead the Hunters (8-6, 7-4) to a West Valley League victory at Lanark Park in a game that lasted only 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Sean Burwell was 2 for 3 with a triple for Cleveland (4-11, 3-8) and teammate Patrick Bryant also tripled.

Taft 4, Reseda 3--Travis Arsenault pitched a complete game to keep Taft (9-10, 5-6) in third place in the West Valley League with four games left in the regular season. Arsenault, who scattered six hits and struck out seven, has kept Taft’s playoffs hopes alive, accounting for all five Toreador league wins.

Taft snapped a 2-2 tie with two runs in the bottom of the third on RBIs by Rich Cosentino and Benji Belfield. Glenn Nahmias and Jason Shapiro led Taft’s seven-hit attack with a pair of two-hit games.

Steve Brody pitched a complete game but suffered the defeat for Reseda (7-8, 4-7).

Poly 11, Hollywood 1--The Parrots jumped out to a seven-run lead on their way to an East Valley League win at Poly.

Luis Garcia was 2 for 3 with three RBIs for Poly (15-3, 13-1), which is three games ahead of Sylmar with four remaining. Seven other Poly starters had a hit, including Nick Lymberopoulos who had two RBIs.

Mario Gomez, a right-handed junior, won his third game without a loss.

Hollywood (0-12, 0-12), which had beaten Fairfax earlier this year for its first league victory in three years, had to forfeit the victory because the Sheiks used an ineligible player.

Verdugo Hills 5, Sylmar 2--Bob Surbeck tossed a three-hitter and had three hits to lead the Dons (6-12, 5-9) to an East Valley League victory at Sylmar. The Spartans (11-7, 5-9) have lost three of their last five games.

Surbeck (2-1) walked three and struck out four.

Monroe 5, Birmingham 3--Sophomore right-hander Sean Henson, making his third appearance of the season after becoming academically eligible last week, combined with Henry Valdez on an eight-hitter as Monroe (8-12, 4-7) moved into a tie for fourth in the Mid-Valley League with Birmingham (7-8, 4-7).

“Sean kept the ball around the plate through the first four innings and did a good job,” Monroe Coach Kevin Campbell said. “He threw well, he challenged the hitters.”

John Bookatz was 4 for 4 with two RBIs for Monroe, which scored two runs in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth. Alan Sedacca (5-4) took the loss for Birmingham.