Granada Hills West Posts 18-1 Victory

Heath McElwee’s bat cost teammate Brian Basowski $10 on Wednesday. The pair of Granada Hills West players also exacted a heavy toll on Agoura-Oak Park.

McElwee homered and doubled and Basowski drove in four runs as Granada Hills West rolled to an 18-1 victory in an American Legion District 20 Western Division game at Oak Park High that was called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.

For Granada Hills West, the performance was de rigueur . In the parlance of the players, West has “10-runned” all but one opponent this season.

“We’ve got a really good team,” said Basowski, a senior outfielder from Cleveland High. “If our pitching holds up, we’ll be really good.”

Whether Basowski’s wallet will stand the impact of an entire season is another question. Basowski posted a $10 bounty to the first player who homered against Agoura-Oak Park. McElwee turned the trick in the first inning.

Division-leading Granada Hills West (9-0) drilled three Agoura-Oak Park pitchers for six extra-base hits. Factor in eight Agoura-Oak Park errors and the issuance of 15 walks, and it spelled rout.

On a team loaded with offensive talent--five Granada Hills West position players participated in the Bernie Milligan All-Star Game last weekend--the only question is how much mileage the team will get out of its pitchers.

Against Agoura-Oak Park (2-7), the team received plenty from right-hander Robert Vazquez.

Vazquez, a 1991 Granada Hills High graduate who redshirted last season at Pierce College, gave up two singles in three innings and struck out the side in the second. It didn’t hurt that Vazquez (2-0) showed up with the bat too.

With Granada Hills West leading, 11-0, in the fourth, Vazquez greeted reliever Josh Brashier with a towering three-run homer to left.

Granada Hills West batted around in the first, second and fourth innings.