CHAPARRAL TOURNAMENT : Westlake Falls From Ranks of Undefeated in First Round

Westlake High’s 15-game winning streak screeched to a halt Thursday when the Warriors were defeated, 5-1, by San Diego Montgomery in the first round of the Chaparral baseball tournament in Las Vegas. It was Westlake’s first loss of the season.

In another first-round game, Simi Valley edged Las Vegas Valley, 6-5.

Westlake (15-1) managed just four hits off Montgomery right-hander Luis Arroyo, and the Warriors sabotaged their cause when they committed three errors and made two more mistakes on the basepaths at Clark High.

After Montgomery jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, the Warriors put runners on second and third with one out in the second after Mike Eby and Todd Preston each singled and moved up a base on a ground out. Eby then hesitated on a ground ball to second and was thrown out at the plate to waste the scoring opportunity.

The second baserunning miscue came in the fifth after the Warriors had cut the deficit to 2-1. Rick Wolters singled with one out but was picked off first by Arroyo.

“(Arroyo) didn’t really have a great move,” Westlake Coach Rich Herrera. “We just got careless on the bases. We weren’t thinking.”

Westlake, ranked No. 5 in the nation by USA Today, scored in the fourth when Mike Lieberthal (one for two) tripled and Eby (two for four) singled him home.

But Montgomery struck for three runs in the fifth off starter Donnie Hill and reliever John Snyder. Montgomery loaded the bases on a pair of singles sandwiched around a hit batsman.

Snyder, a promising sophomore who has spent most of the season on the junior varsity, uncorked a wild pitch to allow one run and yielded a single by Sal Rodriguez that scored two more.

Montgomery took a 2-0 lead in the first on a pair of unearned runs.

With one out, Rodriguez walked and Luis Contreras singled to center. Center fielder Rob Neal tried to nail Rodriguez at third, but his throw got away from Preston, allowing Rodriguez to score.

Hill, who was backing up the play, threw wildly to third in an attempt to get Contreras, who scored on the error.

Hill (1-1) worked four-plus innings and took the defeat.

“Taking nothing away from Montgomery, but we just weren’t up for this game,” Herrera said. “We have to come out tomorrow and play better. The kids knew they didn’t play well.”

Today Westlake will play Basic (Nev.) at noon and Serra at 3 p.m.

In the Simi Valley game, senior Kenny Hood led the Pioneers to a first-round victory at Valley High.

Hood, who throws left-handed but bats right-handed, rapped out two hits to extend his hitting streak to 19 games and also pitched a seven-hitter.

Hood (5-1), who is being recruited by Fresno State, Hawaii and Loyola Marymount, allowed one earned run, struck out 10 and walked six. His hitting streak, which includes the last five games of the 1989 season, is one shy of tying a school record.

With Simi Valley leading, 4-3, in the top of the seventh, Hood helped spark a Pioneer outburst with a two-out double. Tyler Nelson doubled home Hood, and Jeff Sommer singled in Nelson for a 6-3 lead.

Valley (12-3) scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Simi Valley (8-6) plays twice today, meeting Las Vegas Bonanza at 9 a.m. and Las Vegas Clark at 6 p.m.