CITY SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : No. 1 Chatsworth Again Falls Shy of Its Objective

Perhaps the Chatsworth High baseball program should consider a new insignia. Instead of a block C centered on a five-pointed star, a semicircle with a slash through it might be more appropriate.

The Chancellors have mastered the incomplete task, missing out on yet another shot at a City Section 4-A Division baseball title--a step short of Dodger Stadium.

Arguably the Valley area’s most successful baseball program in the ‘80s, top-seeded Chatsworth (21-7) capped the decade in familiar fashion with a 9-8 loss to Palisades in the semifinals Wednesday at Cal State Northridge. The victory moves Palisades (25-4) into the 4-A final against Kennedy, an 8-7 winner over Sylmar, at 7:30 tonight at Dodger Stadium.

Palisades last advanced to the City final in 1982, when Bret Saberhagen, then of Cleveland, pitched a no-hitter.

The Dolphins rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to extend Chatsworth’s reign of frustration. Since 1981, Chatsworth has reached the semifinals seven times and advanced to the final only once, winning the title in 1983. The loss also marked the third consecutive year in which the Chancellors have lost in the semifinals.

Coach Bob Lofrano and his players argue that the evidence is only semi-conclusive, attributing their annoying habit to coincidence.

“Sure, we’re aware of it,” senior second baseman Vince Simili said. “But it doesn’t have anything to do with the semifinals. Absolutely, I still believe we’re the best team in the City.”

Pitcher Derek Wallace, who will attend Pepperdine in the fall, has waited three seasons to make that claim but will end his career without a boast. Instead, he will be stuck with the memory of one of his worst performances. He was hitless in five at-bats, twice failed to produce a run with the bases loaded and gave up the winning runs on a pair of ground-rule doubles in the seventh.

“I choked,” he said. “I played a lousy game all-around.”

With Chatsworth nursing an 8-7 lead in the seventh, Wallace relieved Jason Evans with pinch-hitter Brett Garcia on second and a 3-and-1 count on Mario Cobian. One strike later, Cobian lofted a fly ball down the left-field line that dropped behind Nick Schultz and hopped the wall, scoring Garcia with the tying run.

After a wild pitch sent Cobian to third, Wallace induced Jason Beckerman into a ground out at third and then intentionally walked Mike Codron. Barry Levine, who earlier belted his eighth home run of the season, then took a strike before hitting a ground-rule double that scored Cobian with the winning run.

Wallace (9-3) won 16 games in his career and saved eight more, but Levine was unimpressed.

“We kept hearing how great he was and we were nervous about facing their No. 1,” Levine said. “But he didn’t look that tough warming up. I thought Evans looked tougher.”

Evans, who worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings to earn the win in Tuesday’s 11-6 victory over Grant, pitched two impressive innings of relief after replacing starter Reed McMackin to open the fifth. He struck out the heart of the order on 11 pitches and then started the sixth with two more strikeouts before retiring the side in order.

Meanwhile, Chatsworth recovered from a 5-1 deficit to take its only lead of the game in the top of the sixth. With the Chancellors trailing, 7-6, Evans coaxed a walk out of Codron, who improved to 9-3 despite allowing 19 baserunners.

Simili singled to left and Evans scored when Rich Aude’s sharp ground ball went through shortstop Larry Israel for an error. Simili moved to third on the play and scored on Eric Johnson’s fly ball to center.

After Israel made a diving play to retire Wallace on a ground out, Chatsworth loaded the bases on walks to Kevin Chong and Doug Lambeck. But Codron struck out pinch-hitter Ron Niemi to end the threat. Chatsworth stranded 12 baserunners in all.

Palisades scored single runs in the first and second and then struck for three in the third on a run-scoring double by Codron and Levine’s two-run homer for a 5-1 lead. Chatsworth, limited to Simili’s second homer of the year through three innings, tied the score in the fourth on a two-run double by Mike Mancuso and Aude’s two-run single, one of three hits for the Chatsworth third baseman.

Afterward, Lofrano ordered the players to sit quietly on the bench while Palisades ran victory wind sprints in the outfield.

“The best thing to say at that moment is nothing,” he said. “It’s better to sit and let all the frustration go. We’ve won more than our share of these kind of games and I’m not going to look at this as a negative.”

After six semifinal losses in the past nine seasons, Lofrano claims he harbors no anger because of another such setback.

“I can’t say that we should have won because they got two legitimate runs in the seventh,” he said.