VALLEY ROUNDUP : 11-Run Inning Lifts Taft to Victory

Don’t ask Taft High baseball Coach Rich McKeon for the rundown of Monday’s improbable turn of events.

He’s still comfortably numb.

“It’s all kind of a blur,” he said.

So was the score book.

After trailing by as many as seven runs, Taft scored 11 times in the top of the seventh inning to stun host Kennedy, 13-8, in a wild Northwest Valley Conference game between two teams ranked in The Times’ regional top 10.

Kennedy’s lead ballooned to 7-0 when the Golden Cougars scored three runs in the fifth. Taft, the lone unbeaten team in the conference, scored twice in the top of the sixth to pull within 7-2.

In the seventh, a three-run double by catcher Stacey Kleiner sparked the rally for Taft, which sent 17 batters to the plate.

Adam Shotland and Greg Rosenzweig had pinch hits in the inning and John Erganian and Corey Jacobsen each were hit by pitches with the bases loaded to force in runs. Gabe Kapler had a two-run single in the inning and Kleiner later drew a bases-loaded walk.

With Taft (7-3-1, 5-0 in league play) holding a 13-7 lead entering the bottom of the inning, reliever Mike Sweeney hit the first three Kennedy batters and starting pitcher Justin Siegel re-entered the game and recorded the last three outs.

Darrin McCall had three hits for Kennedy (7-3, 3-2). A player from each team was ejected.

Kleiner had two hits and drove in five and Kapler had two hits and three RBIs for Taft, which holds a three-game lead over Chatsworth and El Camino Real in the West Valley League.

In other baseball games:

Granada Hills 6, El Camino Real 2--Heath McElwee had two hits and Sam Voita launched a solo home run in the fifth as Granada Hills (9-1, 4-1) rolled in a Northwest Valley Conference game at El Camino Real.

Mike McLean and Justin Marine each had two hits for El Camino Real (6-4, 2-3), which lost for the third time in a row.

Junior right-hander Matt Livingston (2-1) pitched the first six innings to earn the victory for Granada Hills.

Left-hander Jason Sipperley (2-2) took the loss.

San Fernando 9, Reseda 3--Raymond Rivera (2-3) scattered three hits and one unearned run over six innings and San Fernando (5-5, 1-4) won a Northwest Valley Conference game at home.

Ethan Rodriguez went two for four with a triple and scored three runs for San Fernando. Shortstop Luis Rodriguez doubled and drove in three for San Fernando.

Reseda is 2-7, 0-5.

Cleveland 8, Chatsworth 3--Shortstop Dave Cipolla was three for four, drove in three runs and stole one base to lead Cleveland (7-2-1, 3-2) in a Northwest Valley Conference game at Chatsworth.

Doug Rubin added three hits for the Cavaliers. Left-hander Mike Petruzates (3-1) was the winning pitcher, striking out three and walking two over six innings.

Matt LeCour and Ed Ramos each had two hits for Chatsworth (5-7, 2-3). Right-hander Jesse Yeomans (2-2) took the loss.

Channel Islands 3, Westlake 2--Angel Aragon (6-1) pitched his fifth complete game, allowing two runs on six hits as Channel Islands (10-2, 3-1) rallied to win a Marmonte League game at Westlake. Aragon struck out seven, walked two and had two hits.

Trailing, 2-1, Channel Islands scored two runs in the sixth. Aragon and Chris Fullmer singled, Javier Rios reached base on a fielder’s choice and Brian Ortiz singled to tie the score. Johnny Olivares hit a fielder’s choice that scored Fullmer to make it 3-2.

In the fifth, Sam Monroy singled to score Rios and cut Westlake’s lead to 2-1.

Harvard-Westlake 16, Whitney 2--Catcher Kevin O’Malley had two doubles in a 12-run fourth as host Harvard-Westlake (6-3) routed Whitney in a nonleague game.

Don Camacho and O’Malley each had three hits and Brian Given added two for the Saracens. In the fourth, Jon Schaeffer had a three-run double and Adam Richards followed with a two-run home run to spark the attack.

Alemany 1-5, St. Francis 0-1--Pitchers Rob Nary, Mike Corr and Chris Tashima limited host St. Francis (1-9) to six hits in a nonleague doubleheader.

With two out in the eighth in the opener, Andy Dominique doubled home Rene Rodriguez to give Alemany (9-4-1) the winning run. Dominique, Ed Bushey and Chris Gallagher each had doubles in the second game for Alemany.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Moorpark 4, Pierce 2--Mike Jenkins pitched a six-hitter as Moorpark (13-12, 7-8) won a Western State Conference game at Pierce (21-4, 13-3).

Tom Lunsford hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning to give Moorpark a 3-0 lead.

Del Marine was three for four and teammates Chris Chandler and Lunsford each had two hits.

GIRLS’ SOFTBALL

Crescenta Valley 18, Alhambra 0--Senior right-hander Stacy Atwood (10-0) has been nearly perfect all season--she has not allowed an earned run in 49 innings. She was even tougher against visiting Alhambra, throwing a perfect game for host Crescenta Valley at Montrose Park.

A returning All-Southern Section 4-A Division selection, Atwood struck out 20. The leadoff batter in the seventh popped out to second for the game’s only non-strikeout.

Atwood threw 79 pitches and 65 were strikes. She had just one three-ball count. Atwood and four teammates each had two hits for Crescenta Valley (10-0).

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL

Granada Hills d. Reseda, 15-1, 15-9, 15-12--Bobby Curtis had a team-high 11 kills to lead Granada Hills (6-1, 3-1) in a Northwest Valley Conference game at home.

Reseda is 4-4, 2-2.

North Hollywood d. Sherman Oaks CES, 15-6, 15-12, 15-12--Mike Toza had nine kills and five blocks to lead host North Hollywood (1-6, 1-2) to its first victory in a Valley Pac-8 Conference match.

Chatsworth d. Kennedy, 12-15, 15-1, 15-13, 17-15--Dan Nash had 31 kills and Jeff Fisher had 72 assists as Chatsworth (6-4, 3-2) won a Northwest Valley Conference match.

Taft d. Cleveland, 15-13, 15-8, 15-11--Daniel Kim had 15 kills and four blocks to lead Taft (6-2, 4-0) in a Northwest Valley Conference match at Cleveland.

Monroe d. Birmingham, 14-16, 7-15, 15-13, 15-6, 16-14--Jean Masequesemay had 36 kills and Mike Bernaldo had 56 assists as Monroe (5-2, 5-1) outlasted Birmingham in a Valley Pac-8 Conference match at Monroe.

VALLEY DIGEST

The Cal Lutheran baseball team is the nation’s top-ranked team in this week’s American Baseball Coaches’ Assn. poll for NCAA Division III. The Kingsmen (26-1) began the season ranked seventh and were second in last week’s poll. Cal Lutheran edged Virginia’s Ferrum College (22-0) with 208 points to Ferrum’s 205.

A representative of the California Faculty Assn. has rescheduled a hearing for a contract grievance filed by former Cal State Northridge women’s basketball Coach Janet Martin. The meeting will be held at Northridge on April 20 at 2 p.m.

Martin says she was pressured into resigning in December. In the grievance, Martin contests the validity of her contract.

Martin and the university agree the contract ran only through the end of the basketball season. Martin contends the contract should have run through the school year--a difference of four months.