Mansfield Helps Birmingham Nail Down Win Over Monroe

Birmingham High left-hander Jason Mansfield was so nervous about his start against Monroe on Friday that he chewed his fingernails to the quick.

Monroe, seeking to clinch a share of the Mid-Valley League title, then chewed on him, quickly. Good thing for Mansfield that a game lasts about 2 1/2 hours. Even better that he doesn’t throw a knuckleball.

“I’ve been nervous since last week,” Mansfield said, displaying what was left of his left hand. “We knew we had to win to have any prayer at all.”

Despite handing Monroe a three-run lead in the second inning, Birmingham rallied for a 6-4 win, keeping alive its hopes for a second consecutive league title.

Monroe and Birmingham are tied in Mid-Valley play with two games remaining in the regular season. Monroe (11-7, 9-6 in league play) has the inside track after beating Birmingham (11-11, 9-6) twice in the three-game season series; the Vikings also will play two games next week against winless Canoga Park.

In case of a tie, head-to-head play determines the league’s No. 1 playoff seeding. In short, Birmingham needs help.

Friday, nature lent a hand.

With the score tied, 4-4, and a runner at second in the bottom of the sixth, Monroe right fielder Mark Maloof lost a line drive by Adam Kallen in the sun. The ball glanced off Maloof’s glove for a three-base error and Kallen scored on Mike Belasco’s sacrifice fly for a 6-4 lead.

“That’s the first time this year that the sun’s helped us,” Birmingham Coach Dave Contreras said of the blinding light that bathes right field in white when the sun is low. “Usually, kids come here and are lost. But it hasn’t happened this year until now.”

Mansfield (4-5) struck out four, walked five, hit another and finished with a three-hitter, although the odds of him finishing the second inning seemed slim. Monroe took a 3-0 lead in the second on two hits, a walk, a passed ball and a wild pitch.

With runners at second and third, however, first baseman Belasco tracked down Chris Ascencio’s blooper on the run in right field to end the inning.

Although Mansfield was ragged over the next five innings, he was effective. After the second, Mansfield allowed one single and walked three as his teammates scratched their way back.

With none out in the second, Birmingham turned three consecutive walks and a base hit off starter Adrian Lovrich into a 3-3 tie. Birmingham again pulled even, 4-4, when Kallen singled home Brandon Bailey (two hits) in the fourth.

Each team must now wait a week to resolve the issue, and it is already on everyone’s mind.

“I was joking with (Monroe Coach Kevin) Campbell before the game,” Contreras said. “I said, ‘I hope you get whipped.’ And he said, ‘I hope you fall flat.’ ”

Hope they have enough fingers left to gnaw on.