American Legion : Chavez’s Extended Tour of Duty Ends in Short Relief for Sun Valley

They had discussed it before, but all Eddie Chavez could get out of Sun Valley Coach Les Riley was a “maybe,” an answer offered as much to get Chavez out of Riley’s hair as to satisfy Chavez’s desire to play every position in a nine-inning game.

But the more Riley thought about it, the more he liked the idea of letting Chavez have a field day.

“We talked about it last week and I thought it might be worth a try, but I wasn’t sure,” Riley said. “So I thought about it and called him Friday and told him it was OK.”

In a 7-5 win over Palmdale at Poly High on Saturday, Chavez started at catcher, then moved to first, second, shortstop and third base. He then moved to left, center and right field. By the eighth inning, with Chavez in right, Sun Valley (10-12) and starter Eddie Castellano were trailing, 5-4, and Palmdale had runners on second and third with one out.

Chavez, who is also Sun Valley’s bullpen ace, moved to position No. 9 of the afternoon, which, fortunately, happens to be his favorite.

“I like relief pitching a lot,” said Chavez, who did not pitch for Poly last season but as an outfielder batted .327. “I get to come in and throw hard.”

Chavez did just that--and promptly hit the first batter to load the bases. He settled down, however, and struck out the next two batters to end the threat.

In the bottom of the eighth, Chavez singled home the tying run and later scored the eventual winning run on Harold Whiteside’s base hit. In the top of the ninth, Chavez (2-2) struck out the first two batters, allowed a harmless single, then struck out the final batter to earn the win. He struck out five of the seven batters he faced.

“It was a lot of fun,” Chavez said. “The best part was that I saw a lot of action at every position. It seemed like they all hit the ball to me.”

Chavez, who was 3 for 5 with two runs batted in, also made the defensive play of the game. In the seventh, with the bases loaded and two out, he set the tone for the day by saving Castellano.

“I made this pretty good diving catch,” Chavez said with a laugh. “That was probably the hardest play I had all day.”

His overall play has been no fluke. On Sunday, Chavez again relieved for Sun Valley and earned his fifth save in a 6-5 win over San Fernando.

Long ball and long days: On June 3, Van Nuys-Notre Dame traveled to the high desert and lost a doubleheader to Lancaster at Antelope Valley High by a combined score of 35-31. In the seven-inning opener, there were eight home runs, a sign of things to come in what would become a seven-hour, 66-run afternoon.

Last Sunday, Chatsworth played at Lancaster and the results were consistent--it was another long day for pitchers and another great day for the long ball. Reed McMackin and John Haselbusch both hit grand slams in the sixth inning of Chatsworth’s 16-14 win in the second game. Haselbusch also homered in Chatsworth’s 10-7 win in the opener.

In the Chatsworth sweep, there were six home runs and 15 extra-base hits.

Smoke and fire: Reseda (16-8) continued to roll over the weekend, defeating Granada Hills, 10-4 and 7-3, on Sunday to stretch its winning streak to nine games and improve its position for a wild-card playoff berth.

Only last month, Reseda was stuck in reverse. After a sluggish 3-6 start, the team has caught fire.

“It’s hard to explain,” Coach Frank Des Enfants said. “The hitting has been unbelievable and the pitching has been good, too. I mean, we were one game out of dead last and then we started smoking.”

There are a few smoking guns in the lineup. Mike Shwartzer and Kevin Ogle--both batting better than .400 with more than 20 RBIs--have been hitting bullets all year long, and Donnie Grant--a 1987 Reseda High graduate--has a team-high six home runs.

Add Reseda: Right-hander Steve Brody is off to a 5-0 start, but he was upstaged by two teammates Sunday. James Purse and Andy Rangel each struck out 11 batters in the sweep of Granada Hills.

Purse (3-3) threw a seven-hitter in his complete-game win in the opener. Rangel (6-1) threw a five-hitter in the nightcap.

Arms race: Because many players also play in other summer youth leagues and miss many Legion games, Newhall-Saugus (Hart) has been battered several times this season. Against cross-town rival Newhall-Saugus (Santa Clarita) on Sunday, a good player turnout by Hart kept Santa Clarita from clinching its third consecutive Northern Division title.

Hart’s Jason Edwards outdueled Saugus’ Roger Salkeld in a battle of Times’ All-Valley senior right-handers. Edwards struck out nine, including the last two batters of the game with the tying and winning runs in scoring position, in Hart’s 3-2 win.

Salkeld (6-1), who like Edwards was named to Cal-Hi Sports’ all-underclassmen team, was tagged with his first loss of the year. It was Hart’s fourth win against 19 losses.

Happy returns: Glendale’s James Hazlet did not play baseball last year--but it was not by choice.

After graduating from Glendale High in 1987, Hazlet redshirted last season at Glendale College at the suggestion on a none-too-impressed coaching staff.

“They told him that was his best option,” Glendale Legion assistant Dave MacKinnon said. “He took a sort of forced vacation.”

Hazlet approached Glendale Legion coaches in the spring about playing, and, after a slow start, has been the team’s hottest hitter over the past three weeks. Hazlet, who plays third base and catches, has 14 hits in his past 23 at-bats with 5 runs batted in. In his past six games, Hazlet has four two-hit games and one three-hit outing. He has raised his average to .364 (24 for 66).

“I think he was really looking for a spot to get back into it,” MacKinnon said. “And he really has. They were wrong--he can play.”

When it rains: After last week’s games, Conejo had almost as many disabled players as it did healthy ones. Seven players will miss the rest of the season because of injury or because of commitments to other sports.

“I’m calling it my sick-and-lame list,” assistant Walt Meinhold said.

Right fielder Lance Martin suffered a broken left wrist and pitcher Scott Barkman is suffering from tendinitis after playing in a seven-on-seven football tournament for Thousand Oaks High.

Two more Conejo players were hurt trying to slide into home plate. Backup infielder Jon Eggling pinched a nerve in his elbow crashing into a catcher and starting shortstop Todd Lang bruised his shins. Pitcher John Bushart left the team to play in a summer basketball tournament and reserves Mike McNellis and Brian Sturges left to compete for a Little League all-star team.

“I was ready to go out there myself,” Meinhold said. “And I can’t throw, catch or bat. We were that desperate.”

Conejo (4-9) lost to Royal on Friday and was swept by Camarillo in a doubleheader Sunday.

Spare time: Woodland Hills (West) pitcher Mike Teich played last weekend for the Southern California Junior College All-Stars in its victory in the Team Alberta Invitational tournament in Edmonton, Canada.

Teich, a 1987 El Camino Real High graduate who now attends College of the Canyons, struck out eight and did not allow a hit in four innings in a win Saturday.

Mounting workload: District 20 Commissioner Mel Swerdling is a coach for the West team in the National Junior Baseball Championships in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The championships are normally called the Olympic Festival, except during an Olympic year.

Swerdling will arrive back in Los Angeles on Saturday, just in time for the district all-star game and the final day of the regular season. When he gets back, he will have plenty to catch up on.

“He’s got meetings, the all-star game, the playoffs to figure out, all sorts of things when he gets back,” his wife, Inga, said.

Staff writer Sean Waters contributed to this notebook.