Pitching, Defense Give Kennedy Perfect Ending

There were no errors for Kennedy High School Saturday, only perfection.

The Fighting Irish defeated Saugus, 1-0, in nine innings at Dodger Stadium to win the Southern Section 3-A baseball championship. They did so by relying on their strengths--pitching and defense.

Greg Hansell supplied the pitching, allowing five hits and striking out 10, including the first six batters.

When Hansell did allow someone to actually hit the ball, his defense was there to lend a hand. The Fighting Irish did not make an error; the Centurions committed two, including one that led to Kennedy’s run.

“Pitching and defense has carried us all season,” Kennedy Coach Chris Pascal said. “This was nothing new today.”

Kennedy’s solid play in the field was highlighted by shortstop Steve Rath and third baseman Paul Ruark. But it was Todd Murakami, a reserve outfielder, who made the biggest play of the game.

In the top of the seventh, Saugus had runners on first and second when Scott Warr sliced a foul ball down the left-field line. Murakami, who had replaced Scott Ethington an inning earlier, gave chase. The ball hit his glove about the same time his knee hit the fence.

Everyone froze, including pinch-runner Jayme Riggio, who has halfway between second and third.

Murakami raised his glove to show he’d made the catch, threw the ball back to the infield, then collapsed in pain. The runners went back to their bases.

“I never saw the fence until I hit it,” Murakami said. “I knew I was hurt, but I was more worried about the runners. So I got the ball back to the infield and then worried about myself.”

Murakami was then surrounded by a doctor, a trainer and Pascal.

Said Pascal: “We got out there and Todd is saying, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.’ We started looking at his ribs and he said, ‘It’s my knee.’ ”

Murakami left the game with a bruised knee. His play was one of four that kept the Fighting Irish tied. But it was, by far, the most spectacular.

“Let’s face it, he literally sacrificed his body for the team,” Rath said. “That’s what playing defense is all about. That play fired us up.”

Rath followed Murakami’s catch with a defensive gem of his own.

With runners still on first and second, Glenn Terry hit a line drive toward left field. Rath moved to his right, snagged the ball and flipped it to second to double off Riggio. End of inning, end of threat.

Rath also made a running catch on a shallow fly to take a hit away from Roger Salkeld in the eighth.

“Steve and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye,” Pascal said. “He sometimes does things that I don’t like and I sometimes do things he doesn’t like. But when it’s time to play, he plays his butt off.”

In the fourth, Saugus had a runner on second with two outs. J.B. Johnson hit a hard grounder between Ruark and the third-base bag.

Ruark dived to his right and smothered the ball. Although he threw late to first base, he prevented a run from scoring.

“Paul saved our butts right there,” Pascal said.

Hansell struck out the next batter to end the inning.