HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : El Camino Real Ends San Pedro’s Season, 4-2

Jerry Lovarov has coached the San Pedro High baseball team for 31 years and he has seen hundreds of ballplayers come and go.

His only complaint about his 31st team is that they have been coming and going too quickly this season.

“We’re a one-inning ball club,” Lovarov said. “We have been all year.”

Wednesday, San Pedro had its usual one good inning. But visiting El Camino Real had two good innings, and as a result, San Pedro was bumped out in the first round of the L.A. City Section 4-A Division playoffs, 4-2.

El Camino Real (12-8) scored two runs in the first inning against San Pedro left-hander Joel Barton.

Conquistador second baseman Danny Cey--the son of former Dodger third baseman Ron Cey--led off the game with a single, then scored on shortstop Gregg Sheren’s two-run home run over the left-field fence.

That was El Camino Real’s first good inning. The second came in the third, when the Conquistadors scored twice on Mike Smith’s triple into the left-field alley, Sheren’s single that scored a run and a run-scoring single by third baseman Greg Lederman.

That was all the offense for El Camino Real, which went hitless the rest of the way against Pirate left-handed reliever Jamie Smith.

San Pedro (15-7) rallied for two runs in the bottom of the third on a triple by Ruben Chavez, a run-scoring double by Pat Barnard and a sacrifice fly by Jose Espinoza.

But that was all the offense the Pirates could manage.

San Pedro’s leadoff hitters reached base in the fourth and fifth, but Cey and Sheren turned two double plays to keep the Pirates off the scoreboard.

“You’re limited as to what you can do offensively when they’re that good defensively,” Lovarov said. “We hit a lot of at-’ems. When you do that, and when they make the plays, you’re in trouble.”