El Camino Real Growing Into Role of Baseball Power

Ask junior catcher Justin Balser for his assessment of the El Camino Real High baseball team and he starts with the obvious: the squad’s relative youth.

“Everyone thinks we’re such a young team . . .” Balser said before he was interrupted.

This is a young team.

“Yeah, we are,” he conceded.

El Camino Real, which sent six non-seniors to fill its eight field positions Wednesday, nonetheless defeated host San Fernando, 9-4, in a Northwest Valley Conference game.

It was the second victory over the defending City Section 4-A Division champion in as many days for El Camino Real (6-1, 2-0 in league play).

“The kids are starting to mature,” El Camino Real Coach Mike Maio said. “In this conference, you have to.”

The top of the El Camino Real batting order sparked the attack. Sophomores Randy Wolf and Justin Martin and juniors Dan Cey and Balser--none of whom is older than 16--combined for six of the team’s eight hits.

San Fernando (4-3, 0-2) committed errors to open each of the first three innings and El Camino Real cashed in each time. The Conquistadores, ranked sixth in the region by The Times, scored three runs in the first after loading the bases on the first three pitches.

A three-run double by Cey (three hits) in the second gave El Camino Real a 6-2 lead. San Fernando’s Vince Guerrero dropped a fly ball in left to open the third, which led to another Conquistadore run.

Seniors Evan Howland (2-0) and Jason Sipperley combined on a four-hitter. Sipperley pitched the final 1 2/3 innings to earn his third save but had to weather a threat in the sixth.

With runners at first and second and El Camino Real holding a 7-4 lead, Sipperley retired Ethan Rodriguez on a ground ball to end the inning. Rodriguez had homered in Tuesday’s game.

“People weren’t expecting us to be up there (among the top teams),” Balser said. “We’re all coming together right now. I hope it keeps going.”