BASEBALL AMERICAN LEGION : Cain Takes Sepulveda to District 20 Championship

Steve Cain isn’t the best pitcher on the Sepulveda American Legion baseball team. And he wasn’t the top gun at Montclair Prep High last spring, either.

Yet the left-hander once again proved that he is as stubborn as they come when it counts, allowing one earned run over six innings to lead Sepulveda to a 12-3 victory over Woodland Hills West in the District 20 championship game Sunday at Birmingham High.

Especially the big ones. Almost three months ago, Cain (7-1) was the winning pitcher as Montclair Prep High won its second consecutive Southern Section 1-A Division title. He continued his big-game exploits Sunday, allowing five hits to West, the two-time defending district champion.

West won, 7-5, Sunday morning to force a second game. Both clubs advance to the six-team Area 6 playoffs, which begin Thursday at Moorpark College.

Sepulveda (22-6) hammered three West pitchers for 15 hits in the second game and scored in six of its nine at-bats. It marked the first district title for Sepulveda, which is made up almost entirely of Montclair Prep players.

Russell Ortiz had a total of five hits in the two games for Sepulveda, and Justin Bass added four. Kent Cote was a cumulative four for five in the two games for West (21-9), which was playing in its third double-header in four days.

Trailing 8-3 in the sixth inning of the second game, West loaded the bases with one out. Cain, however, struck out Mike McLean and retired Dan Cey on a ground ball to end the threat.

Right-hander Kevin Szymanski (1-1) went the distance for West in the opener, allowing all five runs in the fifth inning.