3-A Baseball : Kennedy Wins as Saugus Falls One Pitch Short, 1-0

The Southern Section 3-A Division baseball championship came down to one pitch--a wild pitch--that allowed La Palma Kennedy High School to defeat Saugus, 1-0, Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

Greg Hansell, the starting pitcher for Kennedy, found himself on second base in the ninth inning after a two-base throwing error by third baseman Trevor Rice. Scott Wood advanced Hansell to third on a bunt single. The next batter, Don Cochran, took the first pitch as Wood stole second base. Saugus pitcher Roger Salkeld then threw the ball in the dirt and Hansell scored the game’s only run.

The win gave Kennedy (26-5) its first championship. Saugus (23-5-2) won its only championship in 1986 as a member of the 2-A division.

The game was expected to be a pitcher’s duel and it didn’t disappoint. Salkeld was 12-0 with 169 strikeouts in 100 innings. His earned-run average was 0.69. Hansell entered the game 12-1 with an ERA of 1.37 and 113 strikeouts in 87 innings.

Hansell retired the first 10 batters, the first six by strikeout. He finished the game with 10 strikeouts as only one Saugus runner reached third.

Salkeld, who is expected to be selected in the first round of Monday’s major league baseball draft, struck out nine and walked four.

Hansell has signed a football letter-of-intent to attend Nevada Reno. However, Kennedy Coach Chris Pascal isn’t sure if those plans will hold up.

“Greg’s value went up today for next week’s draft, and I think a high pick may change his mind,” Pascal said.

Hansell agreed. “I wish I could throw off that thing (a major league pitching mound) all day.”