AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Sturges Blasts 2 Home Runs in Conejo A’s Win; Fick Injured

Catcher Brian Sturges hit two home runs and drove in four runs Saturday to lead Conejo A to an 8-6 victory over Newbury Park in an American Legion District 16 game at Newbury Park High, but much of the attention was focused on the catcher from the losing team.

Newbury Park catcher Robert Fick was accidentally hit in the face with a bat during a practice swing by Brett Herman of Conejo A. Fick was taken by ambulance to Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks where he was treated and released. Fick suffered a broken nose, received several stitches on his cheek and forehead and is scheduled to have facial surgery Tuesday.

Sturges had three hits for Conejo A, which improved to 22-3, 11-2 in district play. Brent Christiansen added two hits for Conejo A.

With Conejo A leading, 5-1, in the sixth, losing pitcher Tighe Harrell hit a grand slam to tie the score. But Conejo A, which was officially the home team, scored once in the bottom of the sixth and twice in the eighth to pull out the victory.

In another District 16 game:

Camarillo 4, Santa Barbara 2--Camarillo remained atop the district standings with the victory at Moorpark College. Camarillo improved to 13-2; Santa Barbara fell to 10-3.

DISTRICT 20

Sepulveda 15-3, Reseda 14-10--Matt Gorman drove in four runs to give Reseda a split of a doubleheader at Reseda High.

Joe Tushnet had four hits for Reseda (10-11). Jesse Yeomans, the first-game loser in relief, pitched an eight-hitter to even his record at 4-4.

In the first game, Chris Portugal’s eighth-inning solo homer broke a 14-14 tie. Andy Shaw hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Brent Polacheck--who was three for three--hit a solo homer in the sixth.

Granada Hills West 11-8, Lancaster 9-0--Bryan Martin and Rob Rundquist combined on a four-hit shutout in the second game to lead Granada Hills West to a sweep at Granada Hills High.

Martin (5-2) struck out four, allowed four hits and walked two in five innings. Rundquist pitched two innings of hitless relief.

Brian Basowski and Rundquist each hit two-run homers in the first game and teammates Manny Valencia and Rob Weinzimmer each had two hits for Granada Hills West (15-6).

In the first game, Granada Hills broke a 7-7 tie with four runs in the top of the seventh, then held on as Lancaster (12-8) scored twice in the bottom of the inning.

Heath McElwee went three for four for Granada Hills and teammates Scott Berger, Gary Matthews and Weinzimmer each had two hits.

Encino-Crespi 10, Panorama City 3--Right-hander Jeff Suppan (5-0) did not allow an earned run and added a double and a triple to lead Encino-Crespi in a morning game at Monroe High.

Vic Seper, Brett Farlow and Kyle Carden each had two hits and drove in two runs for Encino-Crespi. Suppan struck out four and walked five.

Encino-Crespi 11, Granada Hills East 7--Suppan and Javier Avila each had three hits to lead Encino-Crespi in an afternoon game at Kennedy High.

Suppan drove in three runs and Farlow, Seper and Brodie VanWagenen each had two hits for Encino-Crespi (16-5).

Jeff Tagliaferri, Rick Nadeau and John Toven each had three hits for Granada Hills East (10-10).

Eagle Rock 5-2, Van Nuys-Notre Dame 4-3--Chris Garza did not allow an earned run in six innings and tossed a one-hitter as Van Nuys-Notre Dame won in the second game to avoid a sweep at Notre Dame High.

Garza walked eight and struck out three. Eric Vellozzi retired the side in order in the seventh to earn his fifth save, tops among District 20 players. Van Nuys’ runs in the second game scored on sacrifice flies by Lou Tapia, David Supple and Francisco Dongo.

In the first game, Tony Aguilar’s two-run homer in the fifth sparked a four-run rally that gave Eagle Rock a 4-3 lead. With the score tied, 5-5, Tony Aguilar scored what proved to be the winning run in the sixth on a single by Andy Aguilar.

Van Nuys-Notre Dame is 13-7; Eagle Rock is 12-8.

Agoura-Oak Park 6, Woodland Hills East 5--Pitcher Jason Warren’s two-out single in the bottom of the ninth drove in pinch-runner Matt Epstein from second with the winning run at Oak Park High.

Woodland Hills East (10-10) scored four times in the top of the first, combining six infield hits with a balk. Agoura-Oak Park (12-8) rallied with three runs in its half of the first, two runs coming on Brian Spina’s triple.

Jason Biller went four for four for Woodland Hills while Benji Benfield, John Erganian and Rick Marino each added three hits.

Las Virgenes 17, West Hills 7--Tom Hoover had four hits and drove in four runs to lead Las Virgenes in a game in which the teams combined for 22 hits and 10 errors at Chaminade High.

Tim Wayne and Jeff Meyer each had two hits for Las Virgenes (5-12). Teammates Josh Morton homered and singled and Paul Shaffer hit a three-run homer.

Scott Valentine and Ted Corcoran each had two hits for West Hills (6-14).