Hot Chatsworth Wilts Rival Canoga Park, 5-2

The heat was on at Chatsworth High on Wednesday.

Two hot teams--the West Valley League champion Chancellors, winners of 20 consecutive games, and second-place Canoga Park, with a four-game winning streak--battled to determine which is hotter heading into the playoffs.

And two sweat-soaked pitchers--Chatsworth’s Shawn Bowen and Canoga Park’s Mike Kerber--threw heat in the 90-degree heat, each striking out five while stifling an explosive offense.

But things finally cooled off when Chatsworth fireman Derek Wallace entered the game with runners at the corners in the seventh inning. Wallace retired Brian Hoffman and Ricky Banuelos--surrendering a run-scoring double to Adam Schulhofer in between--to douse a Canoga Park rally and lift the Chancellors to a 5-2 win at Chatsworth. It was Chatsworth’s third win over Canoga Park this season.

The Chancellors (22-1, 14-0 in league play), who clinched the league title last week, are arguably the hottest team around. Chatsworth has been ranked No. 1 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball for two consecutive months. Friday, the Chancellors will be honored on campus by the City Council.

“We have a very good baseball team,” Coach Bob Lofrano said. “It’s that quiet confidence. You don’t see the bench get panicky.”

Said right fielder John Haselbusch: “We’re so confident, it makes us play harder.”

Kerber (3-3) allowed Chatsworth only one hit for three innings, but the Hunters (10-7, 9-5) pushed across a run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Banuelos that scored Schulhofer. But in the fourth, the Chancellors scored three runs on singles by Art Lowe, Haselbusch, Vince Simili and Rich Aude and two errors.

Kerber was replaced by Mike Moses after surrendering another run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Lowe that scored Joel Wolfe. Moses allowed a run in the sixth.

Bowen (5-0), however, was unable to close the door in the seventh after consecutive singles by Juan Soriano and Jason Mitchell, setting the stage for Wallace.