Taylor-Made 1-Hitter Keeps Royal Unbeaten : Prep baseball: Junior lifts the Highlanders into Babe Herman tournament semifinal.

When Royal High’s Paul Taylor first stood atop the mound Friday and peered toward the batter’s box, he saw more of a saucer than a plate.

Taylor, a junior right-hander with only one inning of varsity work under his sleeve, breathed deeply. He hoped only to last three or four innings against Crescenta Valley in the quarterfinal-round game of the Babe Herman tournament at Stengel Field in Glendale.

But the plate eventually seemed to become as large as a backstop for Taylor, who overcame a shaky start and allowed only one hit in going the distance in Royal’s 5-1 win. Royal, which improved to 7-0, will play Canyon today at 10 a.m. in a semifinal.

Taylor, a junior-varsity pitcher last season, struggled through a first inning in which the second batter he faced--Ernie Diaz--doubled. Diaz went to third on a putout and scored on a wild pitch.

“I was really nervous,” Taylor said. “But after the first inning, I calmed down and everything went all right.”

That would be an understatement. Taylor (1-0) retired 20 of the final 21 batters he faced, including the final 13. He struck out six and walked one.

“I didn’t even expect a complete game,” he said. “I just wanted to pitch good for a while and let someone else come in.”

Royal’s relief crew did not need the call, and Taylor’s performance impressed Crescenta Valley Coach Tony Zarrillo.

“That was the best game a kid has pitched against us all year,” said Zarrillo, whose team dropped to 6-3. “You have to tip your hat to a kid who can throw his breaking pitch for a strike as often as he did.”

Royal provided Taylor with support from the outset. The Highlanders tied the score, 1-1, on Richard Naranjo’s double in the bottom of the first.

Royal added a run in the second after loading the bases on walks to Tomas Kuehn and Curtis Anding and a single by Taylor. Dave Brown followed with a sacrifice fly to right field.

Naranjo, who was three for three with two doubles and two runs batted in, doubled to lead off the third and scored on Tim Casagrande’s single.

Royal secured the victory with two runs in the fifth. Dave Landaker reached on an error, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Naranjo’s double. Casagrande, who was two for three with two RBIs, followed with a single that scored Naranjo and extended Royal’s lead to 5-1.

That margin was more than enough for Taylor, who faced only three batters more than the minimum. Yet Taylor is still at least the No. 3 starter behind seniors Jason Ignacio and Brian Johnson, who each have 3-0 records.

“(Taylor) did a tremendous job,” Royal Coach Dan Maye said. “But he hasn’t had much experience, and the job belongs to those seniors until they lose it.”

Maye has not had that kind of luxury with his offense, which continued to struggle. Naranjo and Casagrande, the third and fourth hitters in Royal’s lineup, collected five of the team’s eight hits.

“I’m just waiting for our bats to explode,” Maye said. “Our hitting is a little out of sync and I think we’re frustrated.”

Frustrated, maybe. Unbeaten, certainly.