The High Schools : Reliable Battery Powers Sylmar Charge

Sylmar High right-hander Nino Romo, it seems, has wisely learned to follow the lead of catcher Bruce Gomez.

“Those guys are always together,” said Coach Gary Donatella, whose team leads the East Valley League with an 11-2 record. “They go to school together, eat lunch together and just generally hang out together.”

So it shouldn’t be surprising that the two are on a similar wavelength come game time, even though Romo’s wide-ranging arsenal--fastball, side-arm fastball, forkball, curve, changeup--doesn’t necessarily simplify matters.

Entering play this week, Romo, a senior, has 44 strikeouts and seven walks in 57 innings. He is 6-3 with an earned-run average of 2.09 and includes among his victories a 2-1 decision over Frank Serna of San Fernando.

Gomez, in fact, has done so well with Romo and the Spartan staff that Donatella says the catcher calls the pitches “at least 80% of the time” and credits the senior with much of the team’s somewhat surprising success.

“It depends on the catcher,” Donatella said. “Lots of coaches won’t allow a kid to have that much authority, but Bruce knows what he’s doing.”

Feeling really low: In an effort to ready their team for Crespi and pitcher Pat (The Man From Down Under) Bennett, Alemany Coach Jim Ozella and assistant Tim Browne took turns last week throwing batting practice submarine-style.

Bennett, Crespi’s newest member of the Sub Club, had baffled Alemany with his low-down delivery earlier in the year, as had Dan Carroll--the Celts’ previous submariner--last season.

Despite Alemany’s extra work, Bennett beat Del Rey League front-runner Alemany, 8-3, and in the process (under) handed Crespi its first league win.

“Bennett just drives us crazy,” Ozella said. “(Crespi Coach Scott) Muckey knows it and we didn’t see anything but that.”

The victory gave Crespi a 1-7-1 league record--5 1/2 games behind Alemany.

“They’re too good a team to be 0-8, or whatever their record was,” Ozella said. “We won’t be the only team to lose a game to them.”

Supreme beings: For the first time in eight years and only the third in the past 16, Royal has captured the Mayor’s Supremacy Trophy, which goes to the high school in Simi Valley with the best record against its intracity rival in all sports at all levels.

Ten points are awarded for a win in a varsity sport, five for a junior varsity win and three for a sophomore team victory. Royal edged Simi Valley, 230-213.

“I think it’s an indication of things to come,” said Royal Athletic Director Terry Dobbins, who left a similar post at Simi Valley High last year.

Twist of fate: The mental anguish of rarely reaching first base against Alhambra was tough enough on Burroughs players Friday, let alone the physical pain some encountered when they got there.

In addition to losing the game, 4-2, the Indians lost starters Kevin Guild and Ed Gavalin. Both injured ankles around first base in successive innings. According to Coach Ed Knaggs, Guild tore a ligament and Gavalin suffered a sprain.

Said Knaggs: “They were acting like they were Carl Lewis racing for the finish line and the bag was jumping up at them or something.”

Hearing footsteps: St. Genevieve (9-8, 3-3) has lost three consecutive games after starting San Fernando Valley League play with three wins in a row, including an 8-2 victory over Notre Dame two weeks ago. The last two losses--to La Salle and Chaminade--were each by one run, and St. Genevieve Coach Kevin Kane attributes much of the Valiants’ downturn to youth and inexperience.

“I think the kids were really surprised that we were 3-0,” Kane said. “I think they’ve felt some pressure since then. They didn’t expect to be at the top of the league standings at the start of the season and, suddenly, they were.

“It’s kind of like when you bump into Mike Tyson in the supermarket and you don’t know who it is. After you turn around and see who it is, you’re looking over your shoulder for the rest of the day.”

Staff writers Tim Brown, Steve Elling, Sam Farmer and John Ortega contributed to this notebook.