Granada Hills’ Martin Shuts Down Chatsworth, 3-1

Whither Granada Hills High?

One day as withered as drought-baked tomatoes and just as likely to be plowed under. The next, as thriving as the ivy that has spread across most of the school’s outfield fence.

“We’re good enough to beat anybody in town,” Coach Darryl Stroh said with a shake of his head. “And we’re bad enough to lose to anybody too.”

The Highlanders took a step forward Tuesday by beating Chatsworth, 3-1, in a Northwest Valley Conference game at Granada Hills. Whether they fall backward when the teams play again Thursday, well . . .

“What’s our story? It’s hard to figure out,” said senior right-hander Bryan Martin, who pitched a two-hitter and did not allow an earned run. “We’re inconsistent. Maybe, sometimes, we play not to lose.”

They seemed determined to lose in the first inning. Although the Highlanders (6-5, 4-3 in league play) took a 2-0 lead, they had a runner picked off third base and parlayed four hits and an error into the minimum amount of damage. A second Granada Hills baserunner was picked off but made his way back to first base when Chatsworth botched the rundown.

Yet Granada Hills came back for more, taking a 3-0 lead in the second and driving Chatsworth starter Doug Dean (2-2) for cover. Ari Jacobs led off with a single and with two out scored on Erik Anderson’s ground-rule triple into the ivy in center.

Martin, who dispatched Chatsworth on 80 pitches, was on a pace to threaten a long-standing Highlander record. Through five innings, he had thrown 47 pitches. The school record for fewest pitches in a seven-inning game is 61, set in 1977 by Bob Jones.

Had his defense not botched a double-play grounder in the sixth and committed a fielding error in the seventh, Martin likely would have finished off Chatsworth (7-4, 5-2) in 69 pitches. Using primarily a slider and cut fastball, Martin (3-0) struck out five, walked one and allowed two fly-ball outs--none after the third inning.

“We’re in a zone where we’re getting a lot of ground balls,” Stroh said. “We’ve got a good little infield and we let them make the plays.”

Over his past two starts, Martin has been a good little pitcher. Last week against Reseda he allowed three hits in seven innings but was not the pitcher of record.

Chatsworth broke through for an unearned run in the sixth. With one out, Scott Carpenter singled to center and moved to third when second baseman Darryl Stroh--son of the coach--let a probable double-play ball by Nestor Martinez scoot through his legs for an error. Carpenter scored when Mitch Root forced Martinez on a ground out to short. Martin escaped further damage by retiring cleanup hitter Thurman Williams on a comebacker.

In the seventh, Dean reached second on a two-out throwing error, but Martin struck out Bill McKnight for the final out.

“They’re the type of team that can score four or five runs just like that,” said Martin, who will attend Weber State on a football scholarship next fall. “I knew I couldn’t let up for a second.”