PREP ROUNDUP : Hawthorne ‘Unknowns’ Win Again

Most of the early season surprises in the Bay League center around the Cougars of Hawthorne High School.

It is only a mild surprise that first-year Coach Lester Sackurai has maneuvered his team into title contention. What surprises the opposition are the individuals who have put Hawthorne into that position. Sackurai and his unknown players were at it again Thursday as they handed visiting Santa Monica High a 5-4 loss.

“The guys who have been doing it all year did it again,” Sackurai said. “My ace pitcher won the game, my stopper saved the game, my power hitter hit a homer, and my top hitter had three hits.”

Sackurai’s ace, left-hander Steve Keith, raised his record to 6-0 by scattering six hits over 6 1/3 innings. Keith, who finished with seven strikeouts, is perhaps the biggest surprise on the Cougar team. Relying mainly on curve balls, the junior is in the midst of his first season as a high school pitcher.

After spotting Santa Monica two unearned first-inning runs, Hawthorne struck for three runs in the third to take a 4-2 lead. Rich Peters, the Cougars’ main power threat, had the big hit in the frame, a towering two-run home run to center, his fourth of the year.

Colon Rice brought the Vikings within one run, 4-3, in the fourth by sending a Keith pitch over the left-field fence. A ground-rule double by Randy Davidson and a run-scoring single by Armando Fernandez in the fifth gave Hawthorne a 5-3 lead. Keith set down nine of the next 10 after Rice’s homer and took the two-run lead into the seventh.

Keith began the inning by giving up his first walk of the game. Following a ground out, the Vikings’ Jose Avila singled in a run. Another walk moved Avila to second and Sackurai made the decision to go with his stopper, Francisco Cordova. That decision, coupled with his seventh-inning move of inserting Louie Lopez into right field, made Sackurai look like a genius. Despite inheriting a 2-0 count, Cordova struck out Semian Sturges.

However, Bret Schafer lined a 0-2 pitch to right field for a single. Santa Monica Coach Ed Frierson chose to hold up the tying run at third as Lopez rifled a throw to the plate. Cordova took advantage of Frierson’s respect for Lopez’ arm by getting Ty Miller to ground out weakly to first base. to end the game with the bases loaded. The save was the senior’s fourth in four save opportunities.

The victory enabled Hawthorne to split this week’s two-game series with Santa Monica. The Vikings, 8-8 overall and 3-3 in the Bay League, defeated the Cougars on Tuesday, 5-3. With Thursday’s win, Hawthorne, 9-6 overall, assured itself of remaining in second place in the league with a 4-2 record. Fernandez, a sophomore, raised his .442 average by going three for three with two stolen bases.

Leuzinger 4, Beverly Hills 3--Tom Gordon hit a two-out, inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning to snap a 3-3 tie and lift the Olympians to a Bay League victory at Leuzinger.

Gordon’s homer to the gap in left-center field evened Leuzinger’s league record at 3-3 and improved its overall mark to 11-6-1. Beverly Hills, which had beaten the Olympians 9-7 on Tuesday, fell to 3-3 in league play.

Beverly Hills took a 3-1 lead with two runs in the fourth, but Leuzinger battled back to tie with runs in the sixth and seventh.

Carlos Rodriguez singled home a run in the sixth. In the seventh, Marvin Johnson reached first on an error by the shortstop and took third when pinch hitter Angel Andrade doubled. Johnson scored the tying run on a groundout by Francisco Martinez.

Junior right-hander Tavo Lopez pitched a complete game for the Olympians, giving up four hits and two earned runs.

Palos Verdes 8, Torrance 4--The Sea Kings, who lost a 6-3 decision to Torrance on Tuesday, gained revenge by leading the entire way at home. Palos Verdes improved to 9-6 overall and 3-3 in the Bay League while Torrance dropped to 3-11 and 2-4.