Staves Regroups in Time to Spark Valley North Win

In terms of motivational ploys, Doug Dean’s move could rank right up there with lighting a guy’s shoestrings on fire, putting Ben-Gay in his jockstrap or pulling the old shaving-cream pie-in-the-face gag.

In fact, it may rate even lower.

With two runs across and the bases loaded Wednesday, Valley North pitcher Ricky Staves was hanging on by his teeth. He had yielded four hits and issued three walks in 1 1/3 innings.

An impromptu conference was called on the mound. Shortstop Dean sauntered over to offer a few words of encouragement, then planted a kiss on Staves’ left cheek.

“He gave me a little peck to change my luck,” said Staves with a grimace. “He does it when I’m going bad.”

No word on what Dean does when Staves is doing well. Nonetheless, for Granada Hills West, it was the kiss of death.

Staves struck out the next two batters to escape the jam and held on for a 4-2 victory over West in an American Legion District 20 Western Division game at Cal State Northridge.

The game was moved from Chatsworth High at the last minute because of Wednesday’s closure of athletic fields at Los Angeles Unified School District campuses. But Staves soon made himself at home on the strange mound.

Granada Hills West (11-2) left the bases loaded in the first and second innings, and stranded two more in the third.

“Coach (Pete Redfern) told me it was a real steep mound,” said Staves, who will be a senior at Chatsworth next fall. “I finally made a few adjustments and started throwing strikes.”

Thereafter, West had considerably more trouble with Staves, who finished with a not-so-tidy 10-hitter.

“We score early, then we go flat,” said West Coach George Saul, whose team had not been held to fewer than four runs all season.

Trailing, 2-0, Valley North (11-2-1) scored three times in the bottom of the second to take the lead for good. Bryan LaCour slammed a solo homer to left, his sixth, off right-hander Matt Livingston (3-2) to start the inning and outfielder Alex Estrada finished it off.

Estrada, a Faith Baptist High product who has swiped 24 bases, singled to center to drive in two runs and boost Valley North to a 3-2 lead.

Staves (2-0) limited West to four hits through the last four innings and was bailed out by two double plays. West had 11 runners advance to second base or beyond in the seven-inning game.

“One key hit anywhere and it’s two runs,” Saul said. “It would have been automatic.”

But West kissed every chance goodby.