Scorekeepers Kept Busy on a Mad Monday

From Granada Hills to West Hills to the Valley side of the Hollywood Hills, it was a wild and woolly Monday.

In Crespi High’s 9-8 baseball victory over host Chaminade, the Celts scored five runs in the top of the sixth to erase a 7-4 deficit. What’s more, the rally was punctuated by extracurricular activity.

With the bases loaded, Crespi’s Kyle Carden singled to right field to drive in a run, but Chaminade right fielder Brian Powers was playing shallow and tried to make a play at first base. Carden and Chaminade reliever Michael Haugh, who was backing up the play, met at the bag.

Carden shoved Haugh, both benches cleared and Carden was ejected. Crespi was not finished, however. Vic Seper followed with a two-run single to tie the score, 7-7, and the Celts (8-3) went on to win.

In a game at Kennedy that featured the ejection of two players, Taft scored 11 runs in the top of the seventh to pull out a 13-8 victory. Taft trailed, 7-0, at one time but parlayed clutch hitting (two pinch-hits) and poor Kennedy pitching (two hit batters) into 11 runs in the inning. For Taft, it seemed as if it was meant to be: Corey Jacobsen, a pitcher, was used to pinch-hit and was hit with the bases loaded to force in a run. The Toreadors sent 17 batters to the plate and took a 13-7 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, Taft reliever Mike Sweeney hit the first three batters he faced--on as many pitches--and was relieved by Justin Siegel, the starting pitcher. Siegel recorded the final three outs. There were seven hit batters and 15 walks in the game.

At Harvard-Westlake, the Saracens scored 12 runs in the fourth inning of a 16-2 victory over Whitney. Catcher Kevin O’Malley, son of Dodger owner Peter, had two doubles in the inning.

COMING ALONG

Not even a 2-7 record is bad enough to wipe the smile off the face of Birmingham baseball Coach Dave Contreras.

Birmingham (2-2 in the Valley Pac-8 Conference), which lost its first five games, began the season with just one returning starter. Contreras has been surprised at how quickly his young team has matured.

“We thought this was going to be a rebuilding year, but maybe the rebuilding is over,” Contreras said. “We might even be competitive this season. . . . I mean like next week.”

FENCED OUT

What is the difference between the left-field fences at Moorpark and Oak Park? Perhaps a victory.

At Oak Park, the left-field foul pole is 300 feet from home plate and the distance is 320 feet in the power alley.

At Moorpark, the nearest fence is at least 500 feet from home plate and is far from even being considered part of the baseball field.

On Friday at Moorpark, Marc Correll hit a deep drive that disappeared--into the glove of Moorpark left fielder Brandon Garrettson. The blast likely would have carried out of most parks but was just another out in the Eagles’ 1-0 loss.

“This place is an airport,” Oak Park Coach Mike Bolyog said. “I think I saw some B-52s coming in for a landing.”

Vince Kowalick and staff writers Steve Elling and Paige A. Leech contributed to this notebook.

Regional Baseball

Top 10 Selected by sportswriters of The Times

Last Rk Wk Team League Record 1 1 Simi Valley Marmonte 9-2 2 2 Channel Islands Marmonte 10-2 3 4 Hart Foothill 11-1 4 3 Crespi Mission 8-3 5 6 Granada Hills North Valley 9-1 6 7 Buena Channel 7-1 7 10 Taft West Valley 7-2-1 8 NR Alemany Mission 9-4-1 9 9 Notre Dame Mission 7-2-1 10 8 Kennedy North Valley 7-3

NR--Not ranked.