WESTSIDE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT : Camarillo Upends Chatsworth

Camarillo High has answered the critics who opined before the season that the Scorpions were too young and inexperienced to be considered among the Valley area’s elite baseball teams.

The retort comes in the form of a 5-0 start and strong pitching.

Camarillo’s latest affirmation was a 4-2 win over Chatsworth on Saturday in the championship game of the Westside tournament’s Blue Division at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Westwood.

It was the Scorpions’ second victory over a City Section power in as many days. Camarillo beat Kennedy, last year’s City 3-A Division champion, 12-0, on Friday.

Camarillo, with 13 juniors on its roster, was supposed to be a year away from this type of a season.

“We’re doing a lot better than I thought we would,” said senior first baseman Matt Tackett, who was three for four with a run batted in. “We didn’t have many guys with varsity experience, and I was a little uneasy.”

But an unbeaten record goes a long way toward erasing doubts, as does the strong pitching Camarillo has received in the past three games.

Eric Raba (3-0), who limited Notre Dame to two runs in a complete-game win Tuesday, held a strong-hitting Chatsworth team to five hits and struck out seven. His performance followed Tajah Merrill’s two-hitter against Kennedy.

Raba, a 6-foot-2 senior right-hander, overcame a rough first inning in which Chatsworth’s Scott Carpenter singled to lead off the game and Nestor Martinez followed with a run-scoring double.

“I didn’t think there would be enough daylight to hold them,” Camarillo Coach Jack Willard said. But Camarillo wasn’t completely in the dark, tying the score, 1-1, with a run in the second and taking a 2-1 lead on Tackett’s two-out single in the third. Camarillo added two runs in the fourth when Raba tripled home Dave Nathaniel, who had walked, and Raba scored on Corey Tucker’s sacrifice fly.

Chatsworth loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, but scored just one run--on Mike Mancuso’s bases-loaded walk. Raba struck out Mitch Root, Chatsworth’s cleanup hitter, and induced Reed McMackin to hit into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.

Raba was two for three and scored two runs. Carpenter and Martinez each had two hits to lead Chatsworth (5-1).

-- JEFF RILEY

In other tournament games:

Chaminade 7, Channel Islands 3--The Eagles needed only one inning to establish itself in the Red Division championship game at UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Chaminade scored seven earned runs on six hits and stole four bases in the first inning en route to the title.

Channel Islands (4-1) played an error-free game and turned three double plays, but starter Angel Aragon was relieved in the first by Victor Medina after Chaminade’s No. 7 batter, Billy Blair, hit a two-run single to push Chaminade ahead, 4-0.

Leadoff batter Colin Havert had two hits, two RBIs, stole two bases and scored twice in the first for Chaminade (4-1).

Eagle pitcher Ted Corcoran (1-1) struck out seven.

Canyon 7, Bell-Jeff 5--Roy Bjorklund went three for three with two doubles and a run batted in, and teammate Chris Stark went two for two with a double to support the pitching of winner Scott Thomason (2-1) at Canyon.

Kennedy 5, University 2--For Kennedy starter Richard Trujillos (2-0), earning a victory in the tournament was as easy as one (earned run allowed), two (walks allowed), three (strikeouts), four (hits allowed).

With the victory at University, Kennedy (5-1) finished third in the Blue Division. Six Kennedy batters were hit by pitches.

Hueneme 9, Notre Dame 3--Bruno Paniccia went three for four for the second consecutive day, but Notre Dame lost at home.

Hueneme scored nine runs without an extra base hit.

Montclair Prep 11, Taft 7--Montclair Prep rapped 12 hits in a game at Taft. Jared Baum (three for four with three runs and two RBIs), Brent Polacheck (two for four with three RBIs) and Keyaan Cook (two for three) led Montclair Prep (4-1).

Starter Kevin Grant (2-1) allowed one hit in 3 2/3 innings and picked up the victory.

Sylmar 12, Rio Mesa 6--Sylmar had eight hits, including three doubles and a triple, in an 11-run fifth inning in a game against visiting Rio Mesa (2-3).

Robert Garcia (three hits and two RBIs), Ben Soliz (two hits and two RBIs) and Pete Amador (two hits and two RBIs) led Sylmar.

Jamie Encinas (2-1) earned the win in relief.

Santa Monica 11, Alemany 5--Visiting Santa Monica built a 10-0 lead after three innings.

Starter Kevin Tate (0-2) took the loss for Alemany (2-3). Greg Thompson, Leo Tejada and Joey Rosselli all doubled for Alemany in a five-run fourth inning.

Hamilton 7, Harvard 4--Adam Braun went two for three, including a solo home run in the sixth, and scored twice but the Saracens (1-4) fell in a game at Hamilton.