Merrill Uncorks a Gem in Camarillo’s 12-0 Win

Tajah Merrill’s tendinitis took the day off Friday, and it allowed him to make a near-perfect varsity debut in host Camarillo High’s 12-0 win over Kennedy in a Westside tournament semifinal game.

Merrill, a 6-foot-2 junior left-hander, limited Kennedy, the defending City Section 4-A Division champion, to two hits.

He struck out eight and walked four, and helped propel Camarillo (4-0) into the championship game of the Blue Division. Camarillo will meet Chatsworth at 2:30 p.m. today at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Westwood.

Merrill, who has tendinitis in his pitching arm, shook off a game-opening double and pitched out of two bases-loaded jams.

“I was pretty nervous,” Merrill said. “But (Camarillo Coach Jack Willard) and I had a long talk yesterday and he told me just to stay calm and compete.”

Merrill appeared as poised as a veteran. After Kennedy’s Ben Guzman had led off the first inning with a double, Merrill struck out the next two batters and retired 12 of the next 13.

“I was just trying to throw strikes and keep the ball down,” he said.

The simplicity was too complex for Kennedy as Merrill used a clever mixture of pitches to confuse the Golden Cougars, who chased high fastballs and lunged at curves.

When Kennedy (4-1) threatened to end the shutout by loading the bases with one out in the fifth, Merrill reached back and struck out Kennedy’s Nos. 1 and 2 batters. In the sixth, Merrill walked the bases full with two out, then ended the threat by inducing a weak ground ball to be hit to first baseman Matt Tackett.

The performance left a positive impression with Willard, who was considering promoting Merrill from No. 2 to co-No. 1 with senior Eric Raba--who has held the top spot without a challenge.

“I knew he was a good pitcher, but did I expect a shutout? No.” Willard said. “We expected it to be more of workout, where he threw three or four innings and did some running.”

But it was Kennedy that was on the run from the start.

Camarillo scored four runs in the second inning on three hits, two wild pitches, a two-base error, and a passed ball.

Corey Tucker provided the big blow, a two-run single that gave Camarillo a 2-0 lead.

The Golden Cougars, coming off an 8-4 win over San Fernando in a North Valley League opener Thursday, committed six errors and allowed three passed balls.

Pitchers Denny Sharp (1-1) and Miguel Avila walked six batters, uncorked four wild pitches and hit two batters.

“We couldn’t catch, we couldn’t throw, and we couldn’t hit,” Kennedy Coach Manny Alvarado said. “We just weren’t intense. I could almost see through them.”

Camarillo extended its lead to 7-0 after five innings, courtesy of three more errors and a run-scoring single by Tucker.

And the Scorpions added five runs in the sixth on Mitch King’s run-scoring single and Leonard Lopez’s grand slam.

CHAMINADE REACHES FINAL

Ted Corcoran’s seventh-inning home run gave the Eagles a win over Taft in a Westside tournament Red Division semifinal. C17