Hits Keep Coming for San Pedro : Prep baseball: The Pirates pound out 16 hits and brush aside Banning, 16-9. The win avenges a 2-1 loss on Tuesday.

Banning High starting pitcher Carlos Garibay said he has not been sharp all season.

That trend continued Thursday as San Pedro pummeled Garibay (1-4) for 10 runs, seven earned, on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings in a 16-9 victory over the visiting Pilots.

Left-hander Larry Cannon went the distance for San Pedro (9-7), giving up 11 hits and walking six. He struck out six. Seven of the Pilots’ runs were charged to Cannon (5-4).

Pirate third baseman Tim Harper went three for five with four runs batted in and three runs scored. Second baseman Allen Taliercio went two for three, including a three-run inside-the-park homer.

The Pirates, who had 16 hits, had four other players with two hits apiece.

The Pirates and Pilots (9-6) are tied for second place in the Southern Pacific Conference at 7-3, a game behind Carson.

After beating San Pedro, 2-1, on Tuesday, Pilot Coach Syl Saavedra was exasperated by his team’s breakdown.

“We play in spurts,” Saavedra said. “We can’t make cutoffs, we can’t do anything. San Pedro’s not eight or nine runs better than us.”

San Pedro Coach Jerry Lovarov believes he knows why Banning looked like a different team on Thursday.

“You can sum it up in one word: field,” Lovarov said. “They had their grass three inches higher. That field is a pitchers’ diamond. This is a hitters’ diamond.”

Taliercio, a senior, said extensive batting practice on Wednesday paid off for the Pirates. He was, however, surprised by his inside-the-park homer.

“I didn’t think I’d make it, because I sprained my ankle recently,” he said.

San Pedro continued its batting barrage in the fifth inning, scoring four runs on four hits, capped off by Mike Lusic’s single that drove home two runs. Lusic’s hit gave the Pirates a 15-3 lead.

Banning came back in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to 15-7.