AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL ROUNDUP : Van Nuys Posts Sweep Behind Pair of Homers From Tapia

Third baseman Lou Tapia hit two home runs Saturday to lead Van Nuys-Notre Dame to a pair of lopsided victories in American Legion District 20 baseball games at Notre Dame High.

Tapia, a 1991 graduate of Notre Dame who played last season at Pierce College, hit a grand slam in the morning game as Van Nuys routed North Hollywood, 25-9, in a game called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.

In the second game, Tapia slammed a two-run homer to lead Van Nuys to a 10-0 win over Canoga Park in a game called after five innings because of the 10-run rule. Van Nuys improved to 16-2.

Tapia and outfielder Jim Landress each had four hits in the second game. Francisco Dongo had four hits for Van Nuys in the opener.

In other District 20 games:

Verdugo Hills 6, Burbank 2--Jim Parque, a 5-foot-5, 110-pound left-hander, threw a five-hitter, struck out seven and walked two at Glendale High.

J.R. Workman had two hits and drove in a run and Robb Turner had two hits and two runs batted in for Verdugo Hills (16-2), which is tied with Van Nuys for first place in the Eastern Division. Parquet (5-1) allowed one earned run.

Sun Valley 8, Palmdale East 4--Right-hander Jake Loveridge allowed two earned runs over nine innings to lead Sun Valley (12-4) at Palmdale High.

Jeff Deal had three hits and teammates Frank Medina, Francisco Flores, Pascual Munguia, Steve Chavez and Ernie Bueno each added two. Loveridge (2-3) struck out six and walked two.

Joe Garcia (7-1) took the loss for Palmdale East (12-4), the leader of the Northern Division.

Newhall-Saugus 5, Lancaster South 4--Newhall-Saugus scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh at Saugus High to win.

With two out in the seventh, Scott Minkler doubled to left-center to drive in Kevin Bialas from second and Danny Cato from first. Chris Hernandez singled home Minkler with the winning run.

Right-hander Jamie Ray (4-1) pitched his fourth complete game, yielding five hits, striking out six and walking five.

The first game of the scheduled doubleheader was forfeited to Newhall-Saugus (15-4) after Lancaster South arrived late.

Encino-Crespi 7, Panorama City 4--Encino-Crespi scored three runs in the top of the ninth at L. A. Baptist High to snap a 4-4 tie and record its 11th consecutive district win. Jeff Suppan drove in the first run with a single that scored Darren McInerney. Suppan scored on a sacrifice fly by Brad Farlow. Joe Turner added a single to drive in Kyle Carden.

Jorvic Salazar (4-5) relieved starter Sam Clemons with none out in the sixth and runners at first and second. Salazar retired 12 of the next 13 batters to earn the win. Tom Nickels hit a two-run home run to highlight a three-run first inning for Panorama City.

Woodland Hills East 8, Canoga Park 4--Woodland Hills East (13-6) rallied from a 3-0 deficit with a five-run fifth inning to win its ninth in a row.

Gabe Kapler and Adam Shotland each had run-scoring doubles, and Stacy Kleiner had a run-scoring single in the fifth. Kapler scored on a squeeze bunt by Warren Stewart.

Kleiner had three hits and two RBIs and teammates Gregg Zutler and Jon Schaeffer each had two hits. Right-hander Brandon Witkow (2-1) threw a five-hitter and struck out six.

Sepulveda 9, Valley South 4--Chris Portugal had a home run, a double and two RBIs and Brad Fullmer contributed two hits and three RBIs as Sepulveda cruised at Encino Colt Field.

Visiting Sepulveda (16-4) scored twice in the first inning and never looked back. Aaron Mintz relieved in the fifth and tossed four shutout innings to earn his first win.

DISTRICT 16

Westlake-Royal 11, Conejo A 3--Third baseman Keith Wilson was four for four to lead Westlake-Royal at Moorpark College.

Shortstop Dave Brown added four hits for Westlake-Royal (17-2, 9-2 in district play), which has won 10 games in a row.

Left-hander Terry Jones (1-0) allowed no earned runs and five hits over five innings, struck out four and walked two.

Newbury Oaks 11, Camarillo B 1--Jamal Nichols was three for three with two stolen bases to lead Newbury Oaks in a game called after seven innings because of the 10-run rule at Newbury Park High.

Left-hander Adam West (6-1) allowed two hits over seven innings, struck out 10 and walked one. West did not allow an earned run.

Ryan Kritscher, Trent Martin, Robert Fick, Jeff Olin, Tighe Curran and Jim Chergey each added two hits for Newbury Oaks (17-1, 11-1), which has won 17 games in a row.