Fowble, Granada Hills Finish Off El Camino Real

Say Robert Fowble’s surname fast enough and it sounds a lot like “foul ball,” which is where this story begins. And ends.

In the sixth inning of a Northwest Valley Conference baseball game at El Camino Real High on Thursday, Fowble found himself on third base, doing his best impression of Carlton Fisk as a towering fly ball off the bat of Granada Hills teammate Bryan Martin hooked toward the foul pole in left field.

“I was guiding it fair more than he was,” Fowble said. “I think it went as far in height as it did lengthwise.”

When Martin’s ball landed in fair ground, the Highlanders had capped a lengthy comeback from a six-run deficit to defeat El Camino Real, 10-6.

El Camino Real (8-6, 6-5 in league play) slammed starter Chris Markey, scoring twice in the third and four times in the fourth to take a 6-0 lead. The Conquistadores had 11 hits through four innings, including three each by Greg Lederman and Gregg Sheren and a pair of doubles by Dan Cey.

“We were down, but we never gave up,” Fowble said. “I don’t know why, but we seem to play better when we’re down.”

Fowble is a perfect example. Three times this season, Fowble has homered in the Highlanders’ final at-bat, once to defeat Kennedy, once to defeat Reseda and once to forge a tie with Chatsworth.

Trailing, 6-1, in the sixth, Granada Hills rallied against reliever Sean Boldt, who went eight innings to record a victory a day earlier. Boldt (4-2) relieved tiring starter Corey Bromberg, who was pitching for the first time in two weeks.

After a walk and a single by Martin, Scott Berger doubled in both runners to bring the Highlanders (11-7-1, 6-4-1) to within 6-3. After a walk to Ari Jacobs, Darryl Stroh laid down a bunt that was fielded by Boldt, but no one covered first and the bases were loaded.

One out later, Robert Vasquez singled in a run and Sam Voita followed with a run-scoring ground out that cut the lead to one. With two down, Fowble dug in with a head full of ideas and a bat full of promise.

“(Boldt) owned me with the curve yesterday,” Fowble said, referring to his one-for-five performance against Boldt in Granada Hills’ 6-4 loss. “So I was looking curve all the way.”

Boldt did not disappoint. He served up a tantalizing curve that Fowble sent to the fence in center, driving in the tying and go-ahead runs. After another walk, Martin sent a three-run shot over the foul pole in left for his first home run since he played for the junior varsity three seasons ago in Decatur, Ill.