American Legion Baseball / Steve Elling : De La Maza Supplies a Last Laugh in Last Loss

Even though Panorama City lost a doubleheader Saturday--including a lopsided 15-7 loss to Santa Monica in the second game--and was eliminated from the Area 6 playoffs, there were more than a few laughs coming from the Panorama City dugout as the season came to an end.

Most of them were directed at catcher Roland De La Maza.

Catcher?

De La Maza, regarded as one of the best right-handed pitchers and outfielders in District 20, caught the top of the ninth inning, and it fast became a season’s worth of adventure rolled into three outs. There was a stolen base. There were three wild pitches. Three runs scored to give Santa Monica the final margin of victory.

Yet the highlight, if you will, came when Panorama City pitcher Carlos Concha fired a high fastball that landed squarely in the middle of De La Maza’s glove--and bounced straight up, almost like a popup.

Like a true pro, De La Maza instantly whipped off the mask. He looked left. He looked right. And the ball came straight down and hit him in the backside as his teammates roared.

It didn’t exactly turn out as he had predicted.

“When he went in, he was saying how nobody was going to run on him and how we were going to shut them down,” teammate Sean Henson said. “He said he wanted to let somebody get on base just so he could throw them out.”

A better way: The father of Woodland Hills West pitcher Lance Gibson has invented a new verb to describe his son’s summertime recovery from a March shoulder operation. Gary Gibson, also the West coach, calls it “rehabing.”

Yet, after improving to 9-1 this season with his win over Santa Monica, Lance said that what began as rehabilitation has turned into something more satisfying.

“I was really going to use Legion as a time to rehabilitate my arm, but I got lucky when I got on a team that loves to win as much as this one,” he said.

With two wins in the Area 6 playoffs, the 6-foot-4 right-hander raised his three-year Legion record to 22-3. In his past three starts, spanning 25 innings, Gibson has allowed two earned runs. In his two Area 6 victories, Gibson struck out 17, walked four and allowed 12 hits in 17 innings.

Instant boon: West’s Del Marine can attest to the fact that batting behind Ryan McGuire has its benefits.

McGuire, the state sophomore player of the year in 1988, was five for 13 and drove in four runs in four games in the Area 6 playoffs. Marine, batting fourth behind McGuire, was seven for 15 with six runs batted in.

McGuire, however, walked seven times in the tournament. In Sunday’s win over Santa Monica, McGuire twice was walked intentionally with first base open. On the first occasion, a West baserunner was thrown out to end the inning. The second time, Marine singled to right--on the first pitch.

And this after Santa Monica had ample opportunity to scout West during the tournament.

“I couldn’t believe they walked Ryan to get to Del,” Gary Gibson said. “Del’s definitely our best hitter right now.”

He may be right. Overall, Marine is 44 for 97 (.453) with a team-high 34 RBIs. McGuire is 35 for 84 (.417) with 30 RBIs. Of course, with all the walks McGuire has received, there’s usually somebody aboard when Marine bats.

One-upsmanship: Before West’s championship game against Santa Monica, Gibson, the starting pitcher, approached catcher Bobby Kim and placed an order. Kim made a counteroffer. As it turns out, both got more than they asked for.

“We had a bet going before the game,” Kim said. “Lance said, ‘Give me four runs and I’ll win it.’ So I said, ‘Give me 10 strikeouts and one walk, and we will.’ ”

The team scored nine runs. Gibson struck out 11 and walked one.

Up in smoke: Even though he coaches a West team that is 27-3, baseball is still a nervous proposition for Gary Gibson.

“He’ll walk out to the mound every once in a while just to ask if everything’s OK,” said Lance Gibson, the coach’s son. “I just say, ‘Relax, we’ll come through.’ I think all of the coaches will probably have ulcers before we’re done.”

Back up the antacid delivery truck. West opens play in the state playoffs, a six-team, double-elimination tournament, Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in Yountville, Calif. If West wins the state title, it will open play in a regional tournament starting Aug. 16 in Union City, Calif.

The second-place team in the state tournament advances to a runner-up regional, which begins Aug. 16 in Lewiston, Ida.

Mother knows best?: When Panorama City outfielder Sean Henson stepped to the plate in a 15-7 loss to Santa Monica in an Area 6 elimination game Saturday, his mom, Toni, nearly fell out of her lawn chair.

In fact, she questioned aloud why Sean--normally a starting pitcher--was in the lineup at all, since hitting has never been his bread and butter. Three hours later, she ate her words.

Henson went four for four, and the only time he didn’t hit safely he walked with the bases loaded to force in a run.

Hot and cold: District 16 champion Westlake-Agoura (28-5-4) was eliminated from the Area 6 playoffs in short order, losing to Woodland Hills West, 10-0, and Panorama City, 12-3. Infielder Mike Suarez, however, went down kicking and screaming.

Suarez, who entered the playoffs batting a team-high .416, was four for seven and reached base six times in eight plate appearances as the leadoff hitter.

Conversely, Mike Lieberthal, Brian Smith and Todd Preston--the Nos. 3, 4, 5 hitters--were a combined three for 20 with one RBI. Lieberthal, who entered the playoffs with 12 home runs and 51 RBIs, was hitless in seven at-bats, struck out three times and grounded into a double play.